Speculum quod Somnium
by HuntedByTrees
Summary: When the worlds of Kingdom Hearts meet the worlds of NiGHTS, two twin sisters are about to expereince the adventure of their life. With their mentors, the original Keyblades masters, they must learn to how to fight, and most of all, how to trust each othe
1. 1 Prologue

**Disclaimer: **I, HuntedByTrees, and my co-writer, GirlWithNoLife, acknowledge that we do not in any way, shape, or form own Kingdom Hearts, or any of the movies therefore mentioned. GWNL has an obsession with NiGHTS (which we also do not own), and she wouldn't write the story without that game. So this became a NiGHTS/Kingdom Hearts fanfic. The idea of dæmons comes from the Golden Compass by Philip Pullman. The song lyrics we use throughout the story are all given the credit to their artists as due when the song appears, either in the text or at the end of the chapter free talk. As far as I know, the name Disciples of Fate is my own creation, but if there just happens to be a group out there by that name, let us know! We're always looking for new music. Hane and Kane Zenshin are own our creation, and so are the band members Hammi, Kammi, and Katsuyori. My friend Sparky helped make the personalities of Hammi and Kammi, so she gets some credit there. GWNL got the idea of the Dark Queen from some legend of the Ice Queen, though I'm not sure who gets the credit there. The world of Arvia is also our own and whew that should just about cover it**!**

(X(x(X(x)X)x)X)

**/Prologue /**:_ Long before Ansem the Wise began to study hearts, and his apprentice sided with the darkness, there was a beautiful woman who lived all alone within her castle. For some reason, she could never leave the castle. No one was able to get close to her, not many even knew of her existence. Her only companion was an enchanted mirror, made of a rare material. The mirror would always tell her how beautiful she was, how kind she was, how great she was. But the mirror was never able to touch her, hold her, or do anything but talk. Angry that the mirror could do nothing, she smashed it in a fit. She scattered its pieces all over the world. _

_Before, the darkness in the people's hearts was minimal, but when the Dark Queen's mirror was shattered, her dark emotions caused the darkness everywhere to multiply. Heartless grew abundant, and the world split into many. The light diminished, only able to be found within the hearts of children._

_Now, though, the Dark Queen realized what she had done; she had destroyed her only friend, her only companion. She was alone again. Now she needed to collect the shards of the mirror. However, the worlds had split and lay across the universe, the shards of her friend among them._

_She began to work hard against the darkness, and to bring the worlds together, but she wasn't able to do it alone. She asked a favor upon eight warriors with hearts untouched by the darkness to assist her. The eight held the powers of a mystical weapon called the Keyblade, and had been granted magic. The eight were called the Warriors of the Heart, for they protected Kingdom Hearts. Now that the worlds had split, they patrolled the universe, keeping the ever-growing darkness at bay._

_The Warriors of Heart agreed to help the woman. They promised they'd keep an eye out for these mirror shards. However, they were unable to find all the pieces. They really tried, but they had to protect the people as well. They were over whelmed. They told the woman they had to make a choice between her mirror and the lives of others. Furious and feeling betrayed, the woman unleashed her powers and so began the war between Light and Dark. She killed the Warriors in her rage._

_But though their bodies were destroyed, the essence of the eight Warriors survived. The Warriors of the Heart found a way to fight, by reincarnating themselves. By living over and over, they condemned themselves to fight until the darkness was gone. The essence of the eight fought hard, but soon, they seemed to stop being reborn._

_The worlds were on their own._

_Yet all the fighting took its toll on the woman. Unable to fight and continue to kill the Warriors' reincarnations (due to lack of strength and the fact they no longer were there), she went into a deep sleep, swearing that upon her awakening, she'd take her revenge on the worlds and find the shards of her beloved mirror. Though she no longer took part in the powers of darkness, the results of her many centuries old battle left its mark on the worlds. The Heartless multiplied, and the darkness took a firm hold in people's hearts._

_Then Ansem began his studies. While Ansem himself may have discovered the dangers of playing with hearts and attempted to stop, his apprentice Xheanort did not. The Heartless and Nobodies were now being created, and soon it seemed the darkness would take over._

_When it was thought that all was lost, a hero emerged. Or, three to be exact. Sora discovered the power of the Keyblade, and with his friends, saved the worlds from Heartless and the evil. He was called upon again, and stopped the Heartless, and Nobodies. Things were good..._

_Until now. The exploits of Sora were only the beginning. Now it seems history will repeat itself, and only eight warriors can stop it. They are…_

The Heart of Nobility

_The Heart of Love_

_The Heart of Honesty_

_The Heart of Courage_

_The Heart of Fortitude_

_The Heart of Devotion_

_The Heart of Sincerity_

_The Heart of Wisdom_

(O(o(O(o(O)o)O)o)O)

**/World: Radiant Gardens (Hollow Bastion)**

**POV: Third:** Aerith gazed out Merlin's house worriedly into the drizzling rain. Yuffie, unusually gloomy and silent, paced behind her while playing with one of her shuriken. Cid and Leon were immersed in the computer while Merlin himself skimmed through his spell books. They all were waiting for news, and weren't entirely sure they wanted to hear it.

Aerith tore her eyes from the window and walked over to Leon and Cid. Yuffie took her place at the window.

"Anything?" she asked hopefully. Leon didn't answer and Cid gave the reply of, "No."

Aerith just sighed. It didn't surprise her. She walked over to Merlin.

"Before you ask my dear, no, I haven't found anything useful," he said as he sighed. He wearily sat on his bed. "His Majesty should be back soon. We should know for sure then."

The room remained in oppressive silence until Yuffie called out, "He's coming!"

They all sat there until the door opened and a short figure with large round ears entered. Before he even had a chance to close the door, Aerith and Yuffie already were drying him off.

"Well King Mickey? Is it their ship?" Aerith asked worriedly. The King shook his head.

"No, it's not theirs. Those ruins must have been there for ages, and the recent rains washed all the debris from it," he replied. It seemed as if the entire room sighed in relief. But Leon posed the next question they all wanted to ask.

"If that's not their ship, then where are they?" No one had an answer, or said a thing until a large crash of thunder caused them to jump.

"Will you shut my door?" the Merlin asked as the rain changed direction and pelted towards the front of the house. Cid hurriedly shut it on the storm as the King put his coat back on.

"Where are you going your Majesty? You should at least wait until the storm passes!" Aerith told him. Mickey shook his head.

"No, I must get back to the castle. With any luck, Kairi will have left me a message," he said.

"Hmm? But I thought she said that they weren't there?" Yuffie asked.

"She did say that, but she also said it was possible that they landed in the ocean, and are stranded. She told me that when Sora and Riku came back from some charity fishing trip, they'd all go search for them."

Merlin just shook his head and replied, "It's no use your Majesty. If Goofy and Donald were stranded at sea, Donald could just use his magic to get them ashore in no time. Besides, Chip and Dale are great at assisting landings. They did it all the time for Sora and co. before. No, Chip and Dale inexplicably lost their ship signal in the middle of nowhere, you said. I tell you, something with great magic is behind this!"

"I gotta agree," Cid spoke up. "It's just not like them. They go on the gummi ship to visit Sora on the islands, and still haven't shown up a week later. Radar around Destiny Islands shows that there ain't anythin' bigger than a watermelon floatin' in space anywhere near that world! You've already checked the worlds that they could have possibly ended up stranded on due to a meteor storm, but they just aren't there!"

"And when I found the remains of what seemed a gummi ship near the old ruins where Ansem's computer is, I called you, knowing you were searching for them. If that ship crashed here such a long time ago, there's nowhere else they could be," Leon said. "Someone, or something, took them. What's worse, is that if someone _did_ take them, they have to have a helluva lot stronger magic than Maleficent or Xemnas. This could be a new enemy worse than them."

"But Leon! There are no Heartless, or Nobodies, not enough to show unusual activity. There isn't sufficient proof that Goofy and Donald are missing from foul play," Aerith pointed out hopefully.

"No Aerith," the King said. "On some of the worlds I found evidence that the Heartless are back. I've even had to fight some of 'em off. We have a new enemy."

"No!" Aerith gasped. Yuffie just gripped the kunai in her hand until her knuckles went white.

"Which brings me to my other concern," Mickey started. He zipped his coat and said, "Come, we go to Ansem's computer. You'll have to see it, not just listen."

"Can't we use Cid's computer?" Merlin asked glancing ruefully out into the rain. Mickey shook his head as everyone got ready to face the storm.

"No. Ansem's already has the needed information. Also, it holds older legends, one of which will be crucial. Not just your typical legends, _old_ legends, the ones that have been forgotten by most," added the King as Cid opened to retort. Everyone followed out into the rain, the Merlin sealing his house by magic before leaving.

"Wow, this place is creepy when it's storming," Aerith said as they approached the ruins of where Ansem's computer was. They made their way through the dark halls and to Ansem's old office, with its books and papers still scattered about.

"Y'know, I bet'cha someday someone will clean this office and find tons of stuff that's been forgotten," Yuffie said nudging a stack of books with her foot.

"Then let's keep it this way. The Heartless were brought from Xheanort and Ansem sticking their noses where they didn't belong," Leon replied as they opened the secret entrance. Yuffie was quiet, and left the books alone.

They followed Mickey as he turned the computer on, and Tron's voice happily said, "Welcome back everyone! How are you?"

"Not so well Tron," Mickey replied (standing on a stool to reach to keyboard).

"Oh, that's not good," Tron said. "How can I help you?"

"Tron, can ya pull up a map of the worlds and their positions to each other? Like the one I wanted to see several months ago?" Mickey asked. Tron replied, "Of course!" as the screen came to life above them.

"I love your new installment Merlin. The screen may have been large before, but having it appear above us makes it looks so cool!" Yuffie said happily.

"King Mickey, what's with those worlds down in the corner? They're all faintly glowing blue," Aerith said pointing to the bottom left corner of the screen. Three worlds, Agraba, Halloween Town, and Pride Lands had a sinister blue glow around them, and a fog surrounded the area of space they resided. It seemed to want to move even further, and engulf the rest of the worlds beyond the three it already had…eaten.

"Those are the worlds that I've seen Heartless. I had a feeling the worlds would be marked. Ya see," Mickey started explaining, "It's been a year since Sora and Riku defeated Xemnas, and peace was restored. Several months ago, I came here wantin' to see if there was any activity from the Heartless or Nobodies. If they were to swarm up again, we wanted to have more notice than last time. Tron here told me that he would be able to pull up a map that could show me where there was unusual activity. There was nothing out of the ordinary at the time.

"But now," Mickey said gesturing toward the map on the screen, "It seems there's trouble. I had already thought there was something weird amidst space when Goofy and Donald told me they wanted to visit Sora in his home world. I told them to be careful, since I felt danger. I told them to contact me when they got there. A week passed without hearing from them. I figured they were havin' so much fun they just forgot to let me know they were there. I managed to get in touch with Kairi after even Chip and Dale couldn't get contact back.

"She told me that Goofy and Donald weren't there. Sora and Riku got bullied into a fishing trip to help raise money for a new hospital, and had been gone for three days. She got a hold of them, and they replied that neither Donald nor Goofy were there. Suspicious, I left to track where Donald or Goofy could have been. But in my search of these worlds down here," he once again motioned the blue glowing worlds, "I found Heartless, and no Donald or Goofy. Now Tron, I see you're missin' a world up here."

"That's not possible your Majesty. All and every world in my database is up there," Tron replied. Mickey frowned. He peered at the screen.

"No, I'm sure there is a world right there," he said pointing to a spot at the very edge of the screen, to the left of the Pride Lands. "Can ya do a search for the world of 'Arvia' Tron?"

"I shall try. This may take several minutes," he said as the screen showed a small box that appeared to be scanning different names.

"Thank you Tron," Mickey said. He turned to the others. "Now the world that Tron is searchin' for is known as Arvia. I had no inkling it even existed, until I flew into the heart of an asteroid field. I thought that maybe Donald's ship was caught in the field. It was a long shot, and only a few kilometers in I was ready to turn back. It was impossible that they got that far in without purposely wanting to get through, and I doubted their ship would want to purposely go in.

"And then my radar was telling me there was something within the very heart of the field –"

"King Mickey, the search for 'Arvia' was unsuccessful. The closest I was able to come to it was the name Arvina among a list of journals. I heard you saying something about an asteroid field. Shall I search for that?" Tron asked. Mickey nodded and told him, "Yes, please. We must find info on this world. It relates to finding Goofy and Donald."

"You were saying King Mickey?" Merlin said.

"Yes. When my radar told me there was somethin' within the middle of this asteroid field, my Keyblade started acting funny. It wanted to go to the center, as if somethin' was calling it."

"Do you think maybe it _was_ Donald and Goofy?" Yuffie asked. Mickey shook his head.

"No. I maneuvered my way through the field, and as I neared within twenty kilometers of the center, a world appeared! It was as if I flew through a veil that rendered whatever lay behind it invisible. Flyin' close enough to pass this barrier reveals the world. But I'd never even seen this world before. It was new."

"King Mickey, I have found the asteroid field, and am currently projecting it on the screen for your visual aid," Tron reported. Within the midst of the fog, near the place Mickey had pointed earlier, a large area of little asteroids appeared.

"Good Tron. Can you do a scope around that area?"

"Right away your Majesty!"

"So, what did you find in this new world?" Aerith asked.

"I found twins. Lots and lots of twins," Mickey said allowing himself a smile. "Twins with these animal creatures followin' them around. The world is unlike any I've seen before. The closest I've seen to it is Twilight Town, and a little of Sora's world. But it's different. It's hard to explain, but it's just different. The people are twins. In most places twins aren't as common, and if they are twins, they're twins with noticeable differences. No, in this world, the twins are normal, and they're identical twins. Even twins of opposite gender look almost the same. People without a twin are like people in our worlds with a twin, somethin' not seen often. And they each have these little creatures they call dæmons. Dæmons, one woman told me, are like the person's soul in a physical form. The children's dæmons can change form, but adults have a permanent look. I didn't quite understand what else she told me about them, but it's complicated.

"And…I found the next Keyblade masters."

Yuffie and Aerith gasped, while Cid shouted, "WHAT?!" and the Merlin was saying, "TWO more masters?"

Leon just calmly told Mickey, "Explain."

Mickey sighed.

"I landed, and was wanderin' through the city closest to me. I was goin' by a park, where a local music band was playin', and the Keyblade started actin' up. There was girl up on the stage, and the Keyblade was respondin' to her, and her twin, whom I saw with her on stage." The King pulled out a sheet of paper that was slightly damp. He put it on a smooth glass area next to the keyboard. "Tron, please take the data from this paper and store it in your hard drives."

"Right away. I'm still in the process of searching the area of asteroids, but so far I'm finding nothing, King Mickey," Tron reported. A light was light under the paper from beneath the glass it lay on, and it slowly starting running up and down the paper (think of a scanner). "Here is the paper. Would you like me to save it in your folder?"

"Please do," Mickey answered. The screen popped up a box, and saved the data from the paper. The box disappeared to be replaced by another with writing. "If you do not believe me when I say that these girls on this new world are Keyblade masters-to-be, then have a look at what is up there. I learned from the locals that these girls and their band, Disciples of Fate, are famous and well loved. The girls are almost sixteen, and have played in this band since they were quite young. They write their own songs, and raise their own money for equipment and instruments. This paper holds the lyrics to the song they were performin' when I heard them. Naturally, upon hearin' the song, and with the Keyblade acting up, I put two and two together."

Aerith was reading the screen with large eyes. Yuffie was mirroring her, and even Leon looked a tad bit astonished.

"But your Majesty…how do these girls _know_ about all that?!" Yuffie asked.

"They don't, at least not like we do. I overheard the band after their performance. The twins wrote that song based upon bits of dreams they've had over the past month. I had to leave when I got your transmission about the gummi ship ruins though, Leon," Mickey said.

"Are you going back? Perhaps you should talk to these girls about their duty as Keyblade masters. You could even bring Sora to teach them!" Aerith suggested.

"No." Everyone glanced at Leon in surprise at the firmness of his answer. "We already have Sora and his friends. We don't need to ruin the lives of anyone else. The burden of a Keyblade master is enough to scar a person for life. We shouldn't scar anymore children than we already have."

Mickey didn't chide him, and nodded seriously. "I know what you mean Leon, but we have no choice. I think that finally, the Warriors of Heart are being brought together again."

Everyone just stared at him blankly.

"Warriors of Heart?" Yuffie asked. Mickey smirked.

"That's why we're here-"

Mickey was then interrupted by an error that popped up on the screen.

"What the…Tron, what happened?"

"I am sorry your Majesty, but the scope of the asteroid field as you requested has failed. As my scope was nearing the center of the field, my systems were temporarily overridden. I can't scope the center of the field," Tron reported. Mickey studied the screen with confusion on his face before realization dawned on him.

"Of course…I'll bet Ansem wanted to protect Arvia for reasons we don't know…Tron, is there any possible way to fix that?"

"It may be possible. Please wait for a moment." The room was silent. "King Mickey, it is asking me for a password. For some unknown reason, the password is not listed among my databases with lists of other passwords."

"Wha-! This is getting' ridiculous! I know that this world exists! Why can't I get any information on it?!" Mickey said in disbelief. Aerith spoke up, "Wait, your Majesty, I have an idea.

"Tron, you said the closest thing to 'Arvia' was the name Arvina. That's just one letter away from the name of the world. What if, for its protection, Ansem altered the name of the world in his computer, and referred to it as a person?" she suggested. Leon nodded thoughtfully.

"That's an idea. Tron, please look up this Arvina."

**(X(x(X(x)X)x)X)**

Hello! This is HuntedByTrees, along with GirlWithNoLife. We want to thank you for choosing our story among many, many other game-based fanfics. We don't know if we lived up to your initial expectations, and if we haven't, we ask you keep reading past the awkward first three chapters before making a final decision regarding whether you should keep reading. We deeply apologize if we're having a hard time projecting the characters' personalities through right now. Things get smoother, we promise.

The prologue happens to be longer than we expected, and would have been longer if we didn't realize how much information we were loading onto you guys. All the little back-stories will be explained later on once we're past introducing people and we're off into the good part of the story.

Please read the next installment when it's out, and post nice reviews! Thank you! bows


	2. 2 Prologue

**Previously**: _"Wha-! This is getting ridiculous! I know that this world exists! Why can't I get any information on it!" Mickey said in disbelief. Aerith spoke up, "Wait, your Majesty, I have an idea._

_"Tron, you said the closest thing to 'Arvia' was the name Arvina. That's just one letter away from the name of the world. What if, for its protection, Ansem altered the name of the world in his computer, and referred to it as a person?" she suggested. Leon nodded thoughtfully._

_"That's an idea. Tron, please look up this Arvina."_

(O(o(O(o)O)o)O)

**/World: Radiant Gardens**

**POV: Third person:**

"On it!"

"But why would Ansem take such care in hiding this world away? He must have had a good reason…" Yuffie said as Tron did his search. Mickey had the answer.

"While in Arvia, I noticed that the twins, the new chosen, had darker hair. I think they originally came from another world, other than Arvia, because they had the only dark hair of everyone in that world! I think…somehow…those twin are related to Ansem."

Yuffie stared at him incredulously. "You mean they're his _kids_!"

Mickey shook his head and replied, "Not blood related…but have a connection to him…" He was then interrupted, again, by Tron.

"It was difficult, but I found it. Information on Arvina Kokoro," he said.

"Proceed."

"The records I found are that of an electronic journal by a woman whose name was Arvina Kokoro. I am currently transferring the document on the screen," he said as another box popped up.

_I am grateful for this opportunity to record my thoughts,_ the screen read, _I thank Ansem-san for his generosity. Out of fear, I am using the name Arvina Kokoro, a name inspired from my home world. My dæmon's name shall not even be named, though he is famous for being one of the only dæmons to belong to a twinless twin. I knew that other worlds existed outside my own, though all those I had tried to explain this to have shunned me. The elders of my society won't even abide the talk of the possibility. But I defied them. I dared to know._

_I proved to them that there were other worlds. I found a mysterious substance like rubber, and managed to make a ship to travel through space with. I left, and landed upon a world of giant felines, who called themselves lions. They were adorable, but had enormous claws and teeth; they were nothing like my dæmon's form of a cat. I found some plants that I knew didn't exist on my world, and brought them back as proof._

_Instead of the hero's celebration I expected, the elders destroyed my evidence, dismantled my ship (for only the engine could be truly destroyed. That material sure is durable), and said they'd make me disappear for good if I tried to tell anyone of my adventure. They were scared, I realized. I confronted them of this fear, and they explained it to me._

_Something big was happening to the other worlds. They knew it. But it wouldn't affect us because we had this shield around our world, kept in place by our world's priests and monks. Of course I knew of the barrier, I had thought for a minute that my world had gone up and left when I had returned. It was only a barrier that rendered the world invisible from a distance._

_But I scoffed at them. I told them they were stupid and silly old fools. With my dæmon's encouragement, I repaired my ship, and continuously went back and forth between my world, and another world I had found, one with ships that sail the water! I had never seen a ship that sailed water, when the ones in my world flew! And the weirdest thing was that no one there had a dæmon! They all thought mine was something evil until I explained he was part of me. Then I met a handsome young man, with hair the likes I'd never seen. His hair was dark, like the night. All the people on my world had light hair, the darkest ever being a red colour. I'll admit now, I fell in love._

_The elders were not happy with me. Twenty-three, and causing more trouble than the street rat kids that ruled the underground passageways. One found out about my romantic reasons for always leaving, and went…well, berserk. We fought, and exchanged nasty words. They told me someone of my status, next in line for the position of Holder (someone like a mayor and king mixed in one who made the decisions for my world) should not be 'running around like a whore.' He even went so far as to try and _tie up_ my dæmon to keep me on my world. I was in such a rage I attacked the old fools, and left for one who would understand me._

_I planned to never return, and did indeed spend a while upon the strange world with my lover. But he was something called a pirate. And pirates were always risking their lives for their income. His ships were outnumbered, and I was informed of his death through his sister. As if that wasn't enough, I found out I was pregnant._

_His sister generously took me in, but when I was three months far, she was arrested for her own piracy. I had nowhere else left to go but back to my world, the one that never understood my wanderlust. I got on my ship, and went back._

_Or tried to._

_They were sorry to see my return, and told me so in my face. I asked them to forgive me, but of course, they didn't and told me to leave and not ever come back. Heavy with child, and with no home, I left in despair._

_My days upon my ship, wandering aimlessly through space, were not pleasant. It could have only been a few days, but it was, to me, an eternity. Only my dæmon was my comfort. I was weak; not only was I hungry, but the life inside me was too, and I had no food and barely any water. At one point I tried returning to the world of water ships, but I was lost and couldn't find my way. My dæmon was losing strength, and spent most of his time sleeping, so that he could conserve energy. If he died, I'd have a great chance of dying as well._

_I then crashed upon a new world, as I had fallen unconscious from fatigue. I had no strength to move, and when I awoke, someone was trying to get me out from my wreckage. As he helped me back to his home, I asked if I was on another world. He wasn't surprised I knew of other worlds, since I just crashed upon his. He explained I was in the world of Radiant Gardens, and his name was Ansem, who ruled and protected the people of the world I was on._

"Well, that explains the gummi ship wreckage you called the King about," Yuffie said in astonishment. "This answers so many questions!"

"Yes, but there are still some to be explained. Like why didn't he ever mention this woman to me when I visited him?" Mickey said.

"And why her home world is so carefully hidden, aside from this here text," Leon added.

"Well, then let's continue to read. There's more," Aerith said. They turned back to the journal.

_Once at his home (which is mighty large), he gave me food and told me I could stay at his place until I had a place to stay myself. I decided to stay until I had delivered. I was still torn up about having to leave home, so he has given me my own electronic journal. I am currently eight months pregnant._

_Ansem is a very kind fellow, but he is doing research on the darkness of people's hearts or something. I'm trying to convince him that it's dangerous, and I think he's beginning to realize this, but his curiosity is too great. He recently had yet another visitor from another world, a king of sorts. I glimpsed him as Ansem showed the way to his study. He looked like a giant mouse! As much as I was intrigued by the mouse-man, I didn't go meet him. I didn't know why, but I felt that no one must know I was here. That's why I am not using my real name._

_After talking with the mouse-king several more times, Ansem-san finally agreed that the study of the darkness was dangerous. The king had told him that the study was affecting other worlds. That was what my elders had warned me of before. Ansem-san told me today that he will cease his studies._

"Well lookit that yer Majesty! This chick was mere meters from ya, and ya didn't even know!" Cid said. Mickey was indeed amused.

"That is a funny coincidence! Who'd have thought that my visits to the real Ansem would be recorded by a stranger whose help I could use right now?" he said half-laughing.

"King Mickey, that is the end of that entry, but there is another one dated about a week after this one. I'm transferring it to the screen," Tron announced. The screen changed, and Arvina's words appeared once again.

_Not good. My news is not good at all. My poor dæmon is pacing back and forth, feeding off my nervousness._

_While Ansem-san told me he'd stop, his apprentices, especially his apprentice Xheanort, have now taken an interest in Ansem-san's studies. A morbid interest. I never trusted him._

_Ansem-san has just told me that he needs to run. Xheanort will eventually try to get rid of Ansem-san, and Ansem-san must stay alive to eventually fight back. I am close to delivering, I know, so he will try to stay until I have given birth._

_But I must describe a dream._

_These past few nights, it's as if a play has been playing every night in my head, continuing from when I wake up. It doesn't make much sense, as it keeps jumping around and there is practically no sound, but I know it's all connected. I see three kids, on an island where it is warm and sunny, with clear waters, and colourful flowers I've never seen. I-I'm not sure who they are, but I know, through the dream, that they're important to the worlds. I see them grow up, in bits and flashes, and I see their world disappear. _

_I cry for them, as I try to understand the torment and sorrow they go through, as one loses their heart, the other gives his away, and one strives to save them both._

_The next night, I see them, older, and still fighting creatures whose name I don't know. I'm not sure, but somehow I know that one is trying to find the other, the one who had given up his heart. I see them fighting, first each other, then together, and…it seems all is happy._

_I've described these dreams to Ansem-san, and he thinks I may be seeing the future. I'm not sure if I believe him, but it seems a possible explanation._

_But last night was the most vivid dream. It was of myself. I saw my future. It was of my child, or, children, as they will be twin girls. It makes sense, since all those on my home world have a twin. Well, I was a twinless twin, born without one, and so was their father. I half expected them to be one, but my native blood runs stronger than I thought. They will have their father's dark hair. Will they have dæmons, I wonder?_

_I'm not sure what their future is exactly, but I see them with the three children I had seen the nights before. I wonder if my daughters shall save the worlds as well? That I cannot answer, but I do know one thing: I shall die in childbirth, and my children sent back to my home world._

_I told Ansem-san this. He is very sad that that is my fate, but will try to make my last days the best I can have. My poor dæmon hasn't been looking well the past few days. I have already made arrangements that Ansem-san shall take my daughters to my world, if he can find it. I am confident he will find it though, for why else would I see them living there? He is already hiding my world from his apprentice, deleting its existence from this here computer._

_I have not long to live, but I will help Ansem-san make preparations for his escape, with my twins. But they will not go without names. My darling daughters, whom I shall never meet, I shall name you. I have told Ansem-san that the first one to be born is Hane, and her twin shall be Kane. He'll know by their eye colour, for that is the only way to distinguish twins at birth._

_Be safe my daughters. Someday, I hope you can travel the worlds more than I was able to. May you have the wanderlust, and always question. Never let anyone tell you who you are, or what you can do, for only you can decide. I love you…_

The room was silent as everyone finished reading.

"So many questions answered within just two journal entries," Aerith said quietly. "The poor woman. But what she saw all came to pass. Sora and his adventures, and her own death. I think we can assume she _did_ die in childbirth, since this appears to be her last entry."

"I think that she's a little hypocritical," Yuffie said crossly. "I mean, she sits here and says that she will accept her fate and all such nonsense, then tells her kids to never let fate decide for them! Then she shouldn't have let fate tell her she can die!"

"She was probably tired and homesick. Her lover is dead, her home pretty much banished her, and she must rely upon a stranger to take care of her and her kids. I think she was ready to just rest," Aerith said. Yuffie shrugged and rolled her eyes.

"At least this explains why we can't find any records of the world. She asked Ansem to protect it, so he got rid of all traces," Leon said. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"If we can correctly assume that the woman's dreams were indeed what shall come to pass, then here," Yuffie pointed to a place in the text on the screen, "She says she sees her daughters with the three kids from the island. I'm sure we all know that those kids are Sora and his friends. But King, this means that the new Keyblade Masters _will_ join the fight. We can't deny something evil is brewing again, and this time Sora can have more help! I think that we should teach these girls how to fight before it's too late."

Mickey bowed his head in thought, and eventually sighed.

"The sake of the worlds comes before anythin' else. Let's head back to my castle; Sora should be back home by now, and we'll ask him to come train them —"

A loud alarm split the air, and everyone could hear it echoing across the rest of Radiant Gardens.

"Your Majesty! There is activity within the castle where the Door to Darkness lies! Hurry!" Tron said over the wailing of the alarm. At once everyone ran out the doors towards the lift stop.

"Do these things even work anymore?" Yuffie shouted to the Merlin over the alarm and the pouring rain that fell through the holes in the passage ceilings. For an answer, the Merlin tried to call the lift. Nothing happened.

"Well, that answers that. Now how do we get up to the chapel?" Yuffie asked. Leon was silent, then bounded down the slope. "Where are you going Squall?!"

They all followed him, where he was ripping more vines and plant growth off the crashed ship of Arvina.

"Cid! Think you can get this to fly again? We just need it to take us up!" Leon shouted to the mechanic.

"Move over!" Cid took control, and within two minutes had the ruins roaring to life.

**(O(o)O)**

Soon they emerged into the castle chapel and took off through the door that led to the Grand Hall. As they entered, they immediately saw the giant mechanism was most clearly active. The keyhole opening was alive with swirling colours, and they all knew that someone who knew how to manipulate the darkness was trying to break through.

"Should we shut it off?" Aerith asked with wide eyes.

"How?!" Yuffie said panicky, "Only Sora was able to shut it off with the Keyblade!"

"Your Majesty! Try your Keyblade!" Leon said urgently. Mickey nodded and readied his Keyblade. He pointed it at the door, but nothing happened.

"Why isn't it working?" Merlin asked as the swirling in the door became faster.

"I don't know! We'll just have to fight whatever comes out!" Mickey said. Yuffie and Leon readied their weapons, while Cid pulled Aerith behind him and the Merlin stood by with his magic.

Soon they saw a silhouette of a someone approaching the opening. Mickey tightened his grip. The figure came closer.

"Is it me, or does the person in there seem to be fighting someone off?" Merlin asked.

"Shh! They're about to come out, and…it looks like-!" They could start to clearly see the person's features. Everyone tensed their bodies, waiting for the person to come out and sure enough—

"Riku!" Mickey shouted as the boy fell through the opening. Riku didn't waste time, and yelled before he hit the ground, "Shut it! Now!"

Mickey once again aimed the Keyblade, and this time it actually shut the door. They could distantly hear a chilling voice screaming in anger that its prey escaped. The mechanism slowly shut off and a ringing silence filled the air, punctuated by Riku's sharp, heavy breaths.

"Riku – are you okay?" Mickey asked as Aerith helped the boy sit up. He was dirty and torn up with several fresh, bleeding wounds along his arms and legs. Several shiny, black feathers lay on the ground near him.

"I should be – that thing can't get through now, right?" he asked anxiously staring at the now inactive door.

"Yes, we hope so. We honestly didn't think anyone would be able to, but you did, so we can't be sure," Mickey replied. "What happened to you?"

Riku laughed a bitter laugh. "I lost, that's what. But you need to know, we've got a new enemy."

Mickey nodded. "Yes, we've had that feelin' for a while now. I suppose you were runnin' from it?"

"No, I was escaping its minion. When Sora and I got back from the trip, Kairi told us about you looking for Donald and Goofy. We were about to set out to find them when this person in a cape and hood materialized out of nowhere and knocked Kairi out. And no, it's not the Organization.

"Sora and I barely had a chance to retaliate before the caped figure took out Sora and threw myself into the ocean. I pretended to be unconscious, waiting for a chance to surprise him, but he tied Sora and I up good. He must've known I was faking it. We never had a chance against him!" Riku slammed his fist into the ground.

"But how'd you get away? Where are Sora and Kairi?" Yuffie asked looking around as if they were hiding. Riku smiled bitterly.

"I'm getting there. Well, the caped guy opened a gate to the realm of darkness where he threw us on the ground and laughed. He knew he had power over us. So we bought for time to undo one of our ropes. Sora asked him what he wanted, but he wouldn't say. He only said he was sent to capture us, but hinted they wanted our hearts.

"For some reason, the guy had to wait for permission to leave the realm of darkness. He kept pacing around and yelling at someone through some communication orb. While he was busy, Sora was able to untie the ropes around my hands. He told me to run for it when I had the chance. So when the chance was ripe, I took off, hoping my experience with the darkness would help me. I remembered this gateway here," he motioned to the door he'd fallen out of. "It was hard, but I got here, and had to fight him off. Damn he's skilled, and he uses these great, huge black birds to help. And so that's how I'm here."

Everyone had looks of worry, and Leon inspected the closed gateway.

"What will happen to Sora and Kairi?"

"Sora told me he had a plan. Remember his Nobody, Roxas? He's going to detach himself and put his heart in Roxas. Roxas is technically a denizen of darkness, so Roxas will be able to travel through the realm of darkness much better than I. Even if they have his body, they won't have Sora's heart. I fear that they'll get Kairi's though; she was unconscious all the while. But if Sora was successful, Roxas should be appearing soon." He gazed at the gateway.

"Well, we'll wait for a while. But we need to tend to your wounds," Aerith said pulling out a First Aid kit. As she cleaned his cuts, the gateway started acting up, and a figure fell out. The gateway then quickly shut down again.

A boy with sandy-blonde hair stood up and dusted himself off.

"You…must be Roxas," Yuffie said slightly awed. "I've never met a Nobody who wasn't trying to kill me." She held out her hand.

Roxas shook it and said, "It certainly is nice to meet all of you in person. I know you all through Sora's memories, but never actually have gotten to meet you." He turned to Riku.

"Good, you managed to escape. That'll make getting Sora and Kairi back easier," Roxas said. Riku nodded and stood up.

"Well, we'd best leave and start planning. So Sora was able to transfer his heart?"

"Yes. I'm the first Nobody to actually have a heart," Roxas smiled a little. "I tried to wake Kairi up so she could to the same and transfer her heart to Naminé, but I couldn't. She was out cold."

"Ya tried and did your best, so don't fret it. At least you and Riku are safe," Mickey said. He paced back and forth. "Yes, this decides it. Four will be better than two under these circumstances. Riku, Roxas, I have a mission for ya. We're going to train the next Keyblade Masters."

"Wait," Aerith said as they were getting ready to leave. "You said something about legends?"

"Ah…" Mickey groaned. "We'll get to the Warriors of Heart another time. For now, we should concentrate on getting to Arvia."

"Your Majesty? What are you talking about?" Riku asked.

"We'll explain. Come."

**(X(x(X(x)X)x)X)**

_Review! Please? We'll get down, dirty, and finally meet the two heroines! And if you're wondering, yes, we purposely made it so that Kairi wasn't able to be saved. We're cruel bitches who don't like her that much, so this keeps her out of our way. Sora fans, we're sorry, but we think you'd kill us if we actually let Sora be captured like Kairi, so think of it as a silver lining that they don't get his heart. As a consolation, he'll be "coaching from the sidelines." Roxas fans, you may worship us. Riku fans, BACK OFF HE'S MINE. Please read the next installment!_


	3. Arvia part one

Disclaimer: I, HuntedByTrees, and my co-writer, GirlWithNoLife, acknowledge that we do not in any way, shape, or form own King

**Previously:** _"Good, you managed to escape. That'll make getting Sora and Kairi back easier," Roxas said. Riku nodded and stood up._

_"Well, we'd best leave and start planning. So Sora was able to transfer his heart?"_

_"Yes. I'm the first Nobody to actually have a heart," Roxas smiled a little. "I tried to wake Kairi up so she could to the same and transfer her heart to Naminé, but I couldn't. She was out cold."_

_"You tried and did your best, so don't fret it. At least you and Riku are safe," Mickey said. He paced back and forth. "Yes, this decides it. Four will be better than two under these circumstances. Riku, Roxas, I have a mission for you. We're going to train the next Keyblade Masters."_

(O(o(O(o)O)o)O)

**/World: Arvia**

**POV: Kane Zenshin:**

_The feeling of being left behind..._

I yawned to myself as I set up Hammi's drums.

"Hey Kane! You tired or something? You've been yawning all morning," he asked as he carried his sister's guitar and mike set.

"Eh? Ah no! No, I'm just taking deep breaths," I said quickly, waving the thought away.

"You lie!" my dæmon, Loki said as he stretched in his cat form. "You were up half the night preparing the stage and making the special effects." I gave him a glare. Big mouth.

Oh, I forgot to introduce myself!

The name's Kane Senshin, but everyone just calls me Kane. I'm 15 and I have long black hair, purple eyes, and pale skin from lack of sunlight because most the time I'm inside. We live in the world of Arvia where your soul quite literally walks beside you. You see, in Arvia everyone not only had a twin, but a dæmon as well.

What is a dæmon you ask? It's animal that basically carries your soul and when you reach a certain age it stays a certain animal, but until then it shifts animal to animal. My dæmon was Loki, a rude and lazy little thing who always said what he wanted, when he wanted. He's such a burden, but what can you do?

"Seriously? Jeez, you trying to kill yourself? You can actually die from lack of sleep, y'know," Kammi, Hammi's twin, said as she carried her snare on stage. We were all apart of a band called 'Disciples of Fate' and a competition was coming up and so we had to practice, practice, practice!

I gave a laugh.

"Of course not! I just couldn't fall asleep at all last night because of Hane's snoring!" I said with a laugh.

"Oi! I don't snore! And how the hell can you hear me if I did? I'm in a different room!" My twin sister Hane pouted as she walked on the stage with Katsuyori. She looked just like me, except her hair was short, her eyes were that blue of the ocean on a warm day, and she had a slight tan. Hane and I are twins like almost everyone else on our world of Arvia; I guess you could say that there was never one of a kind here.

"You lie!" Loki said as he gave her a playful glare.

"So not true! Right, Chimu?" she asked her dæmon, who was in his ferret form.

"Um... I'd rather not comment," he said with a sweat drop.

"Aw, who asked you?!" Hane snarled. We all laughed. "Enough of this! Let's just start the rehearsal already!"

"Whatever you say, Onee-san," I said walking over to my mix board. I tensed as Katsuyori passed me, but I kept smiling. I never liked Katsuyori. Remember how I said there wasn't a one of a kind here? Well, that's except for the twinless-twins. And he was one of the rare ones. Don't get me wrong, he's very nice and everything, but I just plum don't like him. Of course no one knew, for I was very good at hiding my feelings.

"Everyone ready?" I asked. When everyone called, "Yeah!" I started the music on the mix board and we began to play. We practiced the tune, to try out the amps and the special effects and everything. By the time we decided to put it all together, it was almost sunset, but I guess it was worth it, not that I would know...

Because I couldn't hear a single sound…

**(O(o)O)**

_"Wish upon a star _

_Take a step enter the land _

_Walk through the air _

_Take my hand _

_Wishmaster's will _

_Join him the quest of dream _

_A make-believe _

_Is all we need. _

_Wish upon a star _

_No matter who you are _

_The second star to the right _

_Harbringer's gate _

_Beyond the boundaries _

_Blossom ballet _

_In the great wide somewhere _

_Wish upon a star _

_Believe in will _

_The realm of the king of fantasy _

_The master of the tale-like lore _

_The way to kingdom I adore _

_Where the warrior's heart is pure _

_Where the stories will come true. _

_A cub of the king betrayed by the usurper _

_A girl in the rain swearing to her father's name _

_Belle the last sight for the dying gruesome _

_The beauties sleeping awaiting _

_Deep in dream _

_For true love's first kiss _

_Bald Mountain Night _

_Devilheart endures but light _

_A mad aerial dance _

_Chernabog's succubi _

_Black Cauldron born _

_Gurgi's heart forlorn _

_Pig-keeper or hero _

_On a quest of augury _

_Maleficent's fury _

_The spindle so luring _

_Dragon fight, dying night _

Dooming might

_Apprentice of Yen Sid _

_Conducting the galaxy _

_Dreamer on mountaintop _

_Spellbound masquerade _

_The Sailor an idol for the six-year old in me _

_The Phoenix of White Agony Creek _

_Enchantress, A mermaid in a tale as old as time _

_A Dragonslayer, The Awakener _

_Wish upon a star..."_

**/ Hane Senshin:** "Hell yes! We're gonna win hands down!" I shouted happily as we finished rehearsal. I, Hane (pronounce it as Han-ay) Senshin, was going to sing us to victory at the annual Battle of the Bands. My twin sister, Kane (pronounced Kan-ay) Senshin, was getting better all the time with her mixing board. Now she could make us an entire orchestra with only the press of five-dozen buttons. And if anything happened to me so that I was unable to sing, she knew the lyrics as well as I did and could take over.

Hammi and Kammi were the best drummer and snare guitarist in all Arvia. I could play the snare and bass guitar, but nowhere near as well as Kammi and our bassist, Katsuyori. Once again, I could smell the victory. Our band, Disciples of Fate, was going to win.

"Yeah, but I still can't believe you two wrote that song from dreams," Hammi said packing his things.

"Oh, believe it! That song's winning us this year's contest," I said grinning. Kammi just sniffed impatiently. She was already packed and was urging her brother to get a move on.

"I don't care where it came from, as long as it's a winner," she said stroking her dæmon's head. I smirked.

"Well trust me, it'll win."

"Confident are we?" Katsuyori asked. Chimu, my dæmon, nodded his head in agreement, changing his form from a ferret to a lion cub. I just tossed my head and replied, "Just you wait."

"It's not good to be too over confident though. I hear that this year has a really tough opponent from the other side of Arvia. They've won all their Battle of the Bands contests. We should prepare for a rough competition," Katsu-sensei said. I snorted.

"Psht, yeah right! There's no way we're losing! The only way we screw this up is if we're kidnapped off to another world or something!" I said laughing. He didn't smile. I rolled my eyes playfully.

"C'mon Katsu, you don't honestly think those dreams mean anything!" I said. He smiled a little, but didn't have any response. I glanced outside at the setting sun.

"Well, I gotta go help Mrs. Kurshan pull weeds outta her beloved garden. Gotta find a way to pay for food y'know!" I said. "Katsuyori-kun, will you help Kane carry my equipment home?"

Katsu-sensei, as I call him, nodded. Kane was already calling a cab-ship to take them to the boarding school we lived at. Chimu groaned as he turned back into a ferret.

"I don't want to deal with Mrs. Kurshan!" he complained, skillfully bounding up my leg to my shoulder.

"Too bad." I just patted his little head and made my way down the sun-drenched road.

But I'm being rude! Let me introduce our world first!

Kane and I are twins, like almost everyone else on our world of Arvia. We also have our dæmons, like most everyone in Arvia. Dæmons…hmm…to describe one would take too long, but the condensed version is so: A dæmon is an extension of your conscience, your being, your soul, in the form of an animal. When you're still young, the dæmon can change forms, but takes on a permanent form when you reach a certain point in your life. I'll explain more about them later.

Back to twins. Someone without a twin is known as a twinless twin. Katsuyori is a twinless twin. I'm not quite sure what the whole deal is. It's thought here in Arvia that a twinless twin is born so because they killed their twin in their mother's womb, and so that the twinless twin is without half of their soul. Because of their sin before they were even born, twinless twins don't have dæmons. We all believe here that your twin is the other half of your soul and that you are your twin, and they are you. But I don't buy the whole 'kill your twin thing.' I think people like Katsuyori are those who don't need their soul split to teach them life lessons.

Y'see, a lot of folk here in Arvia think that you live once, and when you die, you go to a good place if you were good, or a bad place if you were bad. But that doesn't make sense to me. What if you have no choice in how your life starts, and end up living a bad life through no fault of your own? I think that that you have your twin to help you learn life lessons that you can't learn unless you see your soul from a different angle (which is your twin's) and you have a dæmon to act as your conscience, or another part of your soul. You have almost no privacy of your soul, since everyone else can see it from your twin and your dæmon. It's my belief that people like Katsuyori have already learned their life lessons, and don't need to see their life from different angles or need a physical conscience. They're more enlightened than the rest of us.

But I can't change everyone's point of view about such things, it's just not my job. Besides, the rest of the town thinks us blasphemers. I can't blame them, but we already have our loyal following of fans; we don't need religious or political allies.

As I walked down the street, many of the shopkeepers waved to me and called out greetings. I smiled and waved back. I remembered with a rueful grin that it hadn't always been this easy.

Kane and I don't remember our parents. We were told that as newborn babies, we were dropped off at the Holder's home. The Holder of Arvia is the one person who pretty much rules and controls the world. Like those rulers I've read about in books, like an all-ruling mayor-king. The position is hereditary, but the last Holder died without an heir, so a new family has taken over.

Anyway, when Kane and I were babies we were dropped off at the Holder's home. Our foster-father had told us that there was a note with us, but he never let us read it. We just knew that the note was the only reason we had a home. Yet, it seemed that what he wasn't telling us was always extremely important. When we were only kids, he died without an heir, and a new Holder took his place. This new Holder didn't feel like taking care of a pair of orphans and kicked us out and into a boarding school.

Of course, living at the boarding school was no picnic. No one liked us, not even adults. Kane and I managed to find out it was because no one liked our mom. One shopkeeper told us she died in childbirth, and that the reason many of the townsfolk didn't like us was because our mother had been a troublemaker. She had disobeyed many of the former Holder's rules, and had done something so incredibly horrendous no one remembered what she did (or bothered to tell us).

Of course, we didn't learn any of this until Kane and I had founded our band Disciples of Fate. When we were put in the orphanage/boarding school, we spent a lot of our time outside and made fast friends with the leader of a gang of street rats. While things looked all pretty on top, there was actually a large amount of abandoned kids and runaways living in the tunnel system below the streets. Kane and I weren't the first to find them, and soon we began making our lives livable through our pick pocketing skills. But the street rats live by a system. Those who are smarter and stronger, the natural leaders, are in charge. You listen obediently to those who can kick your ass, and boss around others who can't. The system actually works quite well. Since we all have no family, the other street rats become our family; we look out for each other. You'll never find a street rat who is in the Arvia jail more than three days; the rest of us will break him/her out in no time.

To make a long story short, I once tried stealing a valuable watch off a traveler from the other side of Arvia during a summer break. That's when I met Katsuyori-sensei. The traveler wasn't his father by blood, but had taken care of him since he found him abandoned when Katsu-sensei was a kid. They traveled most of their life, and he had taught Katsu-sensei a style of fighting called ninjutsu.

Well, I didn't get the watch, but Kane, Hammi and Kammi (another pair of abandoned twins my sister and I had befriended), and myself became fast friends with Katsu-sensei and his dad. His dad liked the street rats, and he was a very welcomed guest. He even visited Kane and I when we were stuck inside the boarding school serving detention. But the best thing about him was that he taught Kane and I how to sing and play music. Eventually Hammi and Kammi became interested too, and we all decided to try and form a band. Obviously it was a good idea, as now we're the most loved music group in all Arvia.

We changed our ways, and now the once hated group of street rats has become the loved guardians of the city. This turf is ours, and we don't allow others to try and mess with it. Through the booming success of the band, Kane and I managed to buy ourselves some nice things (since we returned all the things we stole) and so living at the boarding school isn't nearly as bad as before. Hammi and Kammi live two blocks down in an apartment they bought, and Katsuyori lives with his stepmother. While here in Arvia, his father fell in love with a woman named Yumine, but soon Katsu-sensei's dad died. She took Katsu-sensei in when he needed a home to go.

So I'm sure you're sick and tired of me rambling, so shall I move on?

Chimu had changed into a little furry squirrel and wrapped himself around my neck. This was actually quite unusual. I'm sure I mentioned something about it, but dæmons can change form when you're a kid. They take on a permanent form when you hit puberty, for girls around the time they start their first menstrual cycle. The fact that Chimu can still change his form even though I'm almost 17 is really rare. Mrs. Kurshan told it was called incomplete settling. He can change, but as time wears on, he'll stay in a certain form more often, and eventually settle, but something in my past is keeping me from letting him settle. She says I need to accept myself, but I think I accept myself fine! He just doesn't want to keep one form, I think. Hammi and Kammi's dæmons have already settled. Bunpei, Kammi's dæmon, is a wildcat. She can seem cute and cuddly, but you know to back off and not provoke. Hammi's dæmon, Kimaruta, is cat, but slightly smaller than a normal cat. He is small for his age, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have the ferocity a cat can have. He's just tamer than his sister. Oh, and it's really rare to have a dæmon the same sex as yourself. Most girls have a male dæmon, and boys have a female one. _Now_ we can move on…

"How come you still pull weeds for that old bat when you could just buy the thing with the munny your guys get from performances?" he asked grumpily. Mrs. Kurshan was always irritable because of her allergies to fur. Her dæmon was a garden snake, and her husband's was a bird of some sorts. She always made Chimu wait for me right outside the garden gate (since you can't stay separated from your dæmon). Even that little distance was tough when I had to move to the furthest corner of the garden. It didn't help that her garden was surrounded by 1) her house, 2) her enormous garden shed, and 3) the ocean. Chimu could only wait by the gate and entrance, though sometimes he'd sneak up atop the garden shed roof.

"You know that I won't spend the band's munny on such a frivolous and expensive item! The munny I earn from doing odd jobs on my own goes to extra items," I told him. We always have this conversation. He sullenly burrowed in my hair muttered, "I know, I know. But can't you just hint about it to someone who _does_ have munny? I hate it when you go pull weeds."

I patted his head reassuringly. "I do too, but she pays the most for the simplest work. And she gives me holiday bonuses, which buys presents for people. She's actually really nice deep down. And don't forget Chimu, she was practically the only one who liked us _before_ we became famous. She was the one who told us the truth behind our town-wide hatred, and while I know of some who think that it was cruel to tell us, I think it was cruel to _not_ tell us. She's always taken care of us!"

"I know…" he grumbled again.

"Do you care if we drop by the store?" I asked him.

"Why? I don't care; I'm up for anything to keep us from Mrs. Kurshan, but I thought you had given up staring at it every day?" Chimu asked his ears perking up. I laughed.

"No, I want to know if that sale the store has applies to the bracelet," I replied. He shrugged, which I knew as him saying whatever.

Y'see, for a while now, there's been this bracelet that I've been attached to ever since I saw it. It's in this old antique jewelry store, and it's probably one of the most expensive items in there. But I once heard the storeowner, this really snooty, stuck-up rich guy, say that it was gaudy, and that's why no one bought it yet, but he won't lower the price because it'll bring him good money.

I never really told anyone (expect Chimu of course, he knows everything) because I want to buy it myself, and earn it. I don't want it as a gift, because then all my hard work goes down the tube.

"Hey! They have it on display now," Chimu said poking me to get my attention. I looked up, and sure enough my bracelet was set in the middle of the window.

On display, it was entwined to look like one bracelet, one silver chain, and one glinting black chain, but it was actually two separate chains that could be tied together. On the black chain was a devil's wing, red and black. The red stone was some rock that was mined in the early days of the town. It wasn't rare, but it wasn't common, and was the reason the necklace was expensive. The silver chain had a feathered angel's wing, sliver and light blue frosted stone.

I stood there, staring at it. Then I glanced at the price tag, and my heart sank. The damn thing hadn't gone down in price, it had gone up! About several thousand munny!

"Wow Hane, do you even have close to that amount?" Chimu asked turning into a sleek mink, the kind that were skinned for expensive coats. I glared at him. He quickly changed into a black and brown tabby cat. I sighed dejectedly as I made my way down the street to Mrs. Kurshan's.

"Someday I'll have that bracelet," I said, but my heart was wondering the same thing as Chimu. As we turned the corner, the strangest thing happened. I could've sworn the bracelet was calling to me. I felt this weird urge to run. So I did.

"Hey! I can't hold on when you run!" Chimu said clinging to my shoulder. "Why are we running!?"

"I-I don't know! But I want to explore! I want to explore the unknown! I want to go where no one else had ever been, and go on a adventure! Who cares about weeds, and stupid bracelets! Let's go to the beach!"

"When the sun is going down?" Chimu yelled, his claws digging even further.

"Yeah!"

"You're nuts, Hane!"

"If I wasn't, the my life would be such a bore. Now stop being a nag, let's ride the wind!!"

**(O(o)O)**

**/Kane's POV:** I finally made it back to my room, which was a complete and utter mess. You couldn't even see the floor! Yes, as hard as it is to believe, I'm the messy twin; the only things you could see was Loki's cat bed and my bed. There just never seemed to be a reason to clean before. As Loki jumped into his bed, I walked over to mine and flopped down on it, not even bothering to pull the covers over myself.

When I wasn't with Hane or working on stuff for the band, this is what I did. Just lie in bed and do nothing. It's no secret, without Hane, "I" am nothing. I have no interests myself, no dreams, and believe it or not, Hane's the smart one. There's nothing special about me at all. The only thing that makes me the least bit interesting is my dæmon, but that's Loki. Loki's interesting. Hane's interesting. Me? I am not. Without those two... No one would even know my name. That's why I hate Katsuyori. Before he came along, Hane and I were always together, never apart. But then she met him and Hane had begun to find other interests like the band and martial arts, while I... stayed still. How pathetic. That's what I am, pathetic. To hate everything that would take my sister away is so petty and selfish.

I'm pathetic.

I'm so pathetic.

I thought that as I fell asleep, unaware of what was next to come.

**/Dream:**

I was a young child again and Onee-chan and I were playing together at our secret spot in winter. Snow was everywhere and even though it was cold, I didn't mind. I was with Onee-chan, so everything was fine. Suddenly everything became dark and I was a teen again, but now I was alone.

"Hane? Loki? Chimu? Hane?!" I looked around rapidly. Through the fog, I saw Hane walking away.

"Hane! Matte!" I cried as I ran after her. "Matte! Hane! Wait, Onee-chan!" Suddenly other figures appeared in the mists. A man with short red hair and purple eyes appeared from the mist.

"Who is more important to you? Me or her?" I froze for a moment, eyes wide. My heart seemed to stop.

"I..."

"Do you think she cares about you? Look at her! She's abandoning, stomping over you, leaving you with nothing, and worse of all, she doesn't even realize she's doing it! She's completely ignoring your feelings, only thinking of herself!" he continued.

"No!!" I cried, as I continued to run after Hane, running past the man. But no matter how hard I ran, the distance between Hane and I did not close.

"You're pathetic. So pathetic. What did I ever see in you? It would be better if you never existed. If you didn't then..."

"- then I would still be here," a woman with shoulder length hair blonde hair and dark violet eyes, wearing long white burial robes said as she suddenly appeared. "It's your fault, Kane. If you weren't born I wouldn't have died."

"I wouldn't have suffered so much," the boy said.

"NO!!"

Finally I caught up with Hane. I grabbed her hand, but when she turned, her eyes were glowing.

"I could go after my dream if not for you," she whispered. I gasped as I took a step back from her. Just then she transformed into a giant shadow with glowing eyes and fangs. I screamed, then I turned and ran. Many shadows were chasing me now, and I tried to outrun them, but despite my efforts they were catching up.

"Let your darkness... consume you!" they cried.

Suddenly a bright light appeared before me, banishing the shadows behind me. Somehow... It looked familiar and felt... so gentle and cool, like a gentle breeze... I spread my arms out and I let the light envelope me.

**(o)O(o)**

A field of stars...

It felt like I was falling through a field of multi-color stars. Well, falling was perhaps not the right term…floating was more like it. It was so beautiful…the stars, I mean. Finally I landed on a long stone path in front of a large open guard gate. I looked around and noticed it was night here and the sky was more beautiful here than in Arvia.

This place... it seemed so familiar to me...

Curiosity enveloping my mind, I took a deep breath and began to walk forward. I stepped through the gate and saw a giant fountain in the center, large wooden doors and stone steps surrounding the stone road with a large forest surrounding it. I couldn't remember ever being here, and yet...

"Oh, ho, ho! We have a guest! Is this your first time here, Mademoiselle?" a voice suddenly asked. I was startled by the sudden voice, so I quickly whipped towards the voice and was surprised at what I saw. Flapping towards me was an owl with round glasses, a red shirt and a bright, shining, blue pendant. "Hoo, sorry I startled you. You may call me Owl. And you are standing at the entrance to what your people might call the World of Dreams."

"The World... of Dreams?" I questioned. Oh. So this was all a dream. Owl let out a gentle "hoo."

"Hoo! Listen well, young lady. Don't be fooled by that name, 'World of Dreams.' I don't mean to imply that this world isn't real," he explained as he landed on a stone in front of me. "It is simply... Oh, how should I put it? It is another world, one that you are able to visit only when you are fast asleep. We ourselves refer to it as the Night Dimension. And those who come to the Night Dimension from any other worlds are known as visitors. This part of the Night Dimension was created long ago by the **Eight Warriors of Heart** to travel to other worlds, centuries ago. But of course none of these doors have been used since they disappeared. Oh! Do pardon me, Visitor. I do tend to ramble on."

I was about to say something when suddenly a purple blur flew past us.

"Wha?! Ahh!" I yelled as I fell back in surprise

"Hoo! What's that? What's that?" Owl exclaimed as he fell back as well. I looked up and floating in the sky was a boy with short semi-spiked hair, dark tan skin, and beautiful enchanting night blue eyes that held purple as well. He was wearing a long white shirt with a rose pink vest that had gold lining, a long purple scarf and purple pants with long boots. He seemed to be around my age, but some how I doubted he was anywhere close. He looked like he was sitting in a chair as he stared at me.

"Dearest me, you gave me quite a fright! You ought to know better than to startle your elders in such a manner!" Owl scolded the boy. But the boy wasn't listening to him.

"Hey there!" he said in young child's voice. It sounded like he had a Tainbri (note: In Arvia, the Tainbri people sound British) accent. "Sorry about the old bird here. I know it's kind of a drag listening to him squawking on and on." He floated right above me.

"Oh, um..." I started. I felt like... I met this boy before, but where?

"Excuse me... a drag?!" Owl said, aghast. "I am simply attempting to welcome this visitor..." But the boy wasn't listening. He just did loop-de-loops in the air, leaving small stars in his path.

"Who... who are you?" I asked as I stood, watching him in awe.

"My name is NiGHTS!" he introduced, still flying around. "Let me tell ya, you'll have a much better time flying around with me than chatting with this old owl. So how about it? Want to Dualize with me, try your hand at flying?" he asked as he floated in front of me, hand held out.

"Du... Du..." I started to say.

"Du-a-lize!" NiGHTS said as he wagged his finger in front of me. I was about to ask if he could explain this 'Dualizing', but then Owl spoke up.

"Hoo! NiGHTS here is able to 'Dualize' with Visitors. The process allows your bodies to assimilate with one another," he explained.

'_Okay... That sounds... not right,'_ I thought, turning a bit red. But before the boys could notice I asked, "Wh-what do you mean?"

"Ah. It would probably be much easier to understand if you just tried it," Owl said as he flew over to NiGHTS, who was back in chair position. "Go over and touch NiGHTS. You'll see what I mean. That is, of course, if you're interested in that sort of thing...(**GWNL:** Who wouldn't be interested in flying? I mean, really! **HBT:** Well…I wasn't thinking of flying there…Do all of the NiGHTS characters say innocent things that come out really dirty? **GWNL:** No!…Okay, well…sometimes…)."

I clutched my fists to my chest. The way they (and the damned authors!!) talked about Dualizing made me a bit uncomfortable, but to be able to fly like he was – how could I pass up an opportunity like that? Slowly I walked toward NiGHTS, who held out his hand. When I was close enough I slowly reached my hand up toward his and finally our hands touched. There was a bright flash of white light and – oh, how do I explain it? – for a moment there was an intense warm feel, as if I was melting, fading away into him. Our heats, our breath, everything blending into one being.

When the "Dualization" was finished, I opened my eyes. Well, I guess the proper term was "our" eyes because now NiGHTS and I were one!

"Whoa!" I said when I noticed I was floating. I grasped my throat. That was funny. I was in NiGHTS body, but I still seemed to have my voice.

"Eh, heh. Don't worry, you'll get used to it," NiGHTS assured me in his own voice, using his mouth. Whoa, this was so weird! I was having a conversation with the man I was sharing a body with! (**HBT:** Again with the dirty thoughts! slams head on keyboard AGH! NO! DON'T DELETE ALL THE TEXT!)

"How do you feel, Visitor?" Owl asked as he flapped in front of us.

"Um... Weird." I said as I rubbed the back of my/NiGHTS's head. That was the only word I could think of at the moment. Owl chuckled.

"Hoo! Well, that's to be expected. This is your first time Dualizing after all," he said. "Why don't you try flying around the area? Get a hand at it."

"Bu-But how?" I asked. Okay, maybe I was floating, but I didn't know the first thing about flying and I was afraid that if I moved, I would fall and hit the ground.

"Like this!" NiGHTS said as he took control of the body. And flew to the right.

"Whoa!" I cried in surprise. I felt how the body moved and pretty soon, NiGHTS gave me control and soon I was able to do it too.

I can't even begin to describe the wonderful feeling I felt as I flew through the forest. It was just... amazing! While I flew I felt like I was... free! Like I could do anything. I never felt this good in my whole life! Not even when I was with Hane. I noticed that as I flew I left a trail of stars behind, and when I held out my hands and spun in spiral I left a golden trail behind me. NiGHTS even taught me 'the dash,' which made me go a lot faster (of course I did take out a few branches out). Obviously, as you may have guessed by now, I had gotten the hang of flying. I flew around the fountain in the center, and around the forest. When I flew higher into the sky I saw that we were all on a floating isle.

"Hey! Hold on a moment! There's something I forgot to tell you," NiGHTS called as we flew near the edge of isle. We stopped and he pointed at an ocean that was pitch black. "You see that Dark Ocean over there? You'd be best off if you didn't go anywhere near it."

"You mean... that... that ocean over there with the black water?" I asked. NiGHTS nodded.

"Right. I don't know exactly what it is, myself. But they say it can destroy a Visitor's soul, and they'll never be able to return to the Night Realm again," he told me.

"R-really?" I asked, my voice shaking. O–kay... Note to self: Stay away from creepy water. As I stared at it a bit longer, I thought I saw yellow eyes, thousands of them, but once I blinked, they were gone.

"Well, anyway. It's just a story... Owl might know more if we ask him. He is old... Anyway, let's get back to the Dream Gate," NiGHTS then took control of the body and we flew back to the dream gate.

When we landed, NiGHTS and I separated and I had my own body again. I must admit, I was a bit disappointed. I wanted to fly around a little more.

"Hoo! That was wonderful! You must be a natural," Owl praised as he flapped in front of us.

"Ah! No...that was all NiGHTS..." I started. Suddenly a large door appeared. It looked like all the others, except the glass window on top had what looked like a snowflake. "What's that?" I asked.

"Hoo! That is the door to Nightopia," Owl answered.

"Nightopia?" I asked.

"Nightopia is paradise created by Ideya," he explained.

"Ideya?" I questioned.

"Ideya are sparks of light that dwells within the hearts of all living things. These Ideya can give form to the paradise known as Nightopia," he explained further. "But if the door to Nightopia has appeared... You must have an ideya!" Suddenly my hands began to glow a bright red.

"Huh?"

"Oh, enough of this chit chatting! Let's just go and see it!" NiGHTS interrupted. "Hey! What's your name anyway, young lady?"

"Oh! It's Kane. My name is Kane Zenshin. It's a pleasure to meet you, NiGHTS," I said with a polite bow.

"The pleasure is all mine," NiGHTS said returning the bow. "Now... Let's go check Nightopia!"

"Hoo! Now, NiGHTS I know you're excited," Owl interrupted. "But I'm afraid that you will have to wait to explore it."

"Huh?" Suddenly everything began to darken, fade away. "Wh-what's happening?!"

"Do not worry, Visitor! You are merely waking up," I heard Owl call.

"But!" I cried. I didn't want to leave! I wanted to stay here!

"Don't worry! We'll see each other again! We'll explore Nightopia next time!" I heard NiGHTS say before everything vanished.

:NiGHTS POV/

"Hey, Owl..." I said as I turned to him. "I thought the Awaker couldn't come to the Dream Gate. What's going on?"

Owl looked thoughtful before replying. "Hmm... It's not that it can't, it just that he usually doesn't. If it's come here though, it must sense trouble here," he said. Then he looked at the sky, as if expecting something. "Something dire is coming I'm afraid."

**(X(x(X(x)X)x)X)**

HuntedByTrees and GirlWithNoLife here again. We're really, really sorry this is long to read. Really we planned to be out and off Arvia long before the third chapter, but alas, things happen this way. If you have stuck with us so far, we throw ourselves at your feet and thank you, even if you plan on abandoning us now. This is our beloved treasure, so please be kind to it.

The lyrics used in the very beginning are from Nightwish's "FantasMic" from their album Wishmaster. We take no credit.

GWNL is the one who is our NiGHTS expert. HBT only knows the game looks cool, and GWNL is the one who's studied it inside and out. Any praise or complaints concerning that area go to her. 3

And now a word from GWNL: GWNL: _Yay! I finally brought NiGHTS into this story! Now I don't want to hear any arguments about whether NiGHTS is a boy or not, because this is our fanfic and we say he's a boy!_

By the way, if you're wondering why we gave NiGHTS a more human look, the answer's very simple... We wanted to!


	4. Arvia part two

**Previously:** _"Hell yes! We're gonna win hands down!" I shouted happily as we finished rehearsal._

_"Yeah, but I still can't believe you two wrote that song from dreams," Hammi said packing his things._

_"Oh, believe it! That song's winning us this year's contest," I said grinning. Kammi just sniffed impatiently. She was already packed and was urging her brother to get a move on._

_"I don't care where it came from, as long as it's a winner," she said stroking her dæmon's head. I smirked._

_"Well trust me, it'll win."_

_"Confident are we?" Katsuyori asked. Chimu, my dæmon, nodded his head in agreement, changing his form from a weasel to a lion cub. I just tossed my head and replied, "Just you wait."_

_"It's not good to be too over confident though. I hear that this year has a really tough opponent from the other side of Arvia. They've won all their Battle of the Bands contests. We should prepare for a rough competition," Katsu-sensei said. I snorted._

_"Psht, yeah right! There's no way we're losing! The only way we screw this up is if we're kidnapped off to another world or something!" I said laughing. He didn't smile. I rolled my eyes playfully._

_"C'mon Katsu, you don't honestly think those dreams mean anything!" I said. He remained silent._

(O(o(O(o)O)o)O)

**/World: Arvia**

**POV: Third Person:**

"Let me get this straight. You want us to _stalk_ these girls?" Riku asked dubiously. He winced as a thorny branch poked him in his side.

King Mickey nodded. "I don't think their powers have quite developed, so I want you two to follow the twins, to protect them, okay fellas? When the time comes, help them out and explain them the Keyblade."

Roxas, also wincing from the bush he was sitting on, replied, "But the townspeople have never seen us before. They might become suspicious if two strange boys are following these girls, especially since they're famous."

The three of them were hiding out in a clearing of the nearby forest, where the gummi ship was hidden. The rehearsal studio was within their sight, and they were waiting for the twins to come out.

"It's alright, I got it figured out. There's this Battle of the Bands, and lots of people who are new to this particular town are coming to see the show. Just say you came to see the show next week," Mickey said peering through the bushes. "Aha! I see them. Alright fellas, be careful. Kill any Heartless, and protect those girls!"

Before Roxas or Riku could say anything, the King had dashed off deeper into the woods.

"Well…I hope he has enough munny to bail us out of jail for stalking…" Roxas said lightheartedly. Riku just had a grim look, and replied, "I really, really don't want to do this. Can't we just…I dunno, go kick some Heartless butt? I'd rather fight Ansem again than get caught stalking…"

"C'mon, cheer up. At least your heart and life aren't at risk!" Roxas said.

"Yeah…but the one twin scares me…"

"Get over it."

**(O(o)O)**

**/Hane's POV:** It was the end of another rehearsal. "G'bye guys!" I waved to Hammi and Kammi's retreating backs. Katsuyori-sensei had already left before practice had finished, so we just practiced individual parts and solos the last half-hour.

"I am so psyched! This is gonna be the best Battle of the Bands yet!" I shouted pumping my fist into the air. My enthusiasm was even wearing off on Chimu. He was running around in circles at my feet as a cat again, happily purring.

Kane was also gently smiling.

Her dæmon, Loki, took on his usual ermine shape. Yeah, he can change like my little Chimu. Kane may be almost 16, but she acts more like a thirteen year-old, so Loki hasn't settled either. But he usual likes his ermine or cat form.

"I wonder what they're giving out as a prize this year?" she asked curiously. I shrugged.

"Dunno, I'll ask when I go check out how the competition is this year. Coming?" She shook her head.

"The lady from the candy shop is giving out free samples, I want to get some. See ya later!" I waved her good-bye before running to the other part of the auditorium. Most of the newer bands from other places would perform there, while veterans would use the auditorium I'd just come from. While walking, I had the strangest feeling I was being watched.

"Ah! Just the star I wanted to see!" Rufus, the one who started the whole Battle of the Bands on Arvia, said walking up. His chameleon dæmon was sitting on his shoulder.

"You were looking for me?" I asked. He grinned and winked.

"Walk with me." We started towards the stairs to the upper seats. "My dear Hane, your voice is beautiful even without the microphone. It's such a shame that you won't do a tour!"

"You know that I can't leave even if I wanted to. The Holder doesn't even like me down by the beach. Seems to think I'll have crazy ideas of traveling, so he won't even let me travel my own world. Keeps Kane and I cooped up at the school," I laughed. Rufus chuckled.

"You don't think that other worlds exist, do you?"

"Of course! It's all the Holder's fault, but I do. Where else would we get such crazy stories, likes ships that sail the water and fish that swim? Yeah, they're complete opposites of our own world, but still, some things I think came from other ideas! But anyway, you said you wanted to see me?"

"Ah, yes. Hane, I think that Disciples of Fate should not participate this year," he said. I stared at him abhorred.

"But we've been practicing this song for this specifically! You can't just tell us not to play!" I retorted, ready to fight for my band's place.

"Easy! I didn't say I didn't want you to play!"

"Explain," I said. Chimu was growling, in his form of a cougar. Rufus's dæmon was now changing colours nervously.

"I want you to be judges this year!" he said. Chimu went from a cougar to a lion cub as my eyes widened.

"Really?!"

"Yes! I'm sure everyone in all of Arvia knows you'll win the competition, and the Battle of the Bands won't be much of a battle if you're always winning. It's not even an option to ask you to forfeit, so instead, the council and I decided you'll be one of our judges! You'll open up the competition, so don't think that you won't get to perform. Does this all sounds okay?"

As happy and excited as I was, I knew I'd need to talk with the others. "I'm absolutely thrilled! But it's the entire band's decision, so I'll have to talk it over with them."

Rufus nodded in understanding. "Of course. Well let me know when you have a definite answer."

"Hmm, well, I was going to scope out the competition, but if we won't be competition, then I'm going to get those weeds done as quickly as possible!" I said happily. I waved good-bye. As I was leaving the grounds, I ran into Katsuyori.

"Ah! Hiya Katsu-sensei!" I greeted him cheerily. Normally what some people would call gloomy, he always smiled for me, though the smile had almost no emotion behind it. He had once confessed that there was a good reason for his attitude, but he'd never tell me.

"Hey. Sorry I had to run off in the middle of practice. Yumine thought she got bit by a poisonous spider." He rolled his eyes. I grinned.

"It's fine. My good news lets me forgive you." I told him what Rufus and I had discussed. His grey eyes, normally emotionless, glittered.

"That's wonderful news!" I could tell he was really excited, though only someone who knew him well would be able to tell. The only hint was how his eyes changed, and his voice was slightly higher and more full of emotion. Chimu was good friends with Katsu, and chattered excitedly as flying fish, "And you guys are only teens! Imagine how much more famous you may get when you're adults!"

Katsu held out his arm. Chimu landed on it and transformed into caracal. Katsuyori was a special person in that he could touch other people's dæmons and not affect the person at all. I felt nothing as he stroked Chimu's furry head. At first I had thought it was because he had no dæmon himself, but that wasn't true; other twinless twins with no dæmon follow the same No Touch rule. Someone had once told me that you and your love could touch each other's dæmons, but that wasn't the case; Katsuyori could touch anyone's dæmon and get the same results. He was like water. He's there, but clear, and almost anything can mix with it. Even better…

"Hey, Katsu? Think you could do me and Chimu a favor?" I asked hesitantly. He knew exactly what I meant.

"Yes, I'll come pull weeds with you. I bet Chimu'd like to just relax while you work, huh?" he remarked scratching Chimu under his chin. Whenever Katsuyori holds Chimu, I can travel farther from Chimu than is recommended. Sometimes I'd pay Katsu just to stand by he gate and hold Chimu so I could move around Mrs. Kurshan's garden without being uncomfortable.

Chimu purred and warped himself around Katsu's shoulder. He looked like a giant caracal boa. When we showed up at Mrs. Kurshan's house, she was already waiting.

"I don't care how famous you are, you're late!" she told me off.

"Sorry, sorry! I'm on it!" I hurriedly made my way into the garden, starting at the far corner. It was weird to walk past the chrysanthemums and not feel the bond to Chimu start pulling me back. Mrs. Kurshan eventually went away, so Katsu and I could talk.

After a while, I feel sleepy. I glanced at Katsuyori and saw that Chimu had fallen asleep, small as a squirrel in Katsu's hands.

"I…I, hey…wake him…up," I said sleepily, swaying where I stood.

"Oh! Sorry!" Katsu quickly woke him up. Chittering and complaining, Chimu eventually woke up, letting me resume my work.

"Haha, you can't sleep yet!" Katsu teased him. Chimu glared at him.

"Not my fault! I always feel so relaxed around you, and the sun was so warm…" he yawned. I just shook my head ruefully.

"Well, I'm done anyway. Let me go let Mrs. Kurshan know." I came back and the three of us started on our way.

"So Katsu-sensei…"

"Why do you insist on calling me 'sensei'?" he asked. I grinned.

"'Cause you teach me the ninjutsu that Moru-san taught you," I answered. I saw his eyes cloud for a moment. "Ah, Katsu…I'm sorry, I didn't mean to –"

"No, it's fine." Moru had been the traveler who had been a father to him. After Moru had been killed, Katsuyori had taken up his name as his own last name. Yumine, Moru's love, now took care of him.

I just watched his face for a while. He'd never told any of us what had happened to him. He'd just told us that Moru had saved him from a terrible fate, and taught him his ninjutsu. We knew nothing of his family or where he came from, aside that he was born in the wild lands of Arvia, where tribes and clans were common.

"Anyway, you were saying, Hane?"

"Oh! Well, complete subject change, but you once told me you'd tell me why you can touch other people's dæmons. You knew the reason, and said once you'd tell us everything about your past." I left it at that. He could get moody real quick.

"That's…the time isn't now." It was hard to read his voice. Well, harder than usual.

"'Kay…I was just wondering. Well, I'd better run if I want to get back to the school in time for dinner. I love summer break!" Chimu transformed into a coyote. We good-bye to Katsu, and took off. Once again, I had the strangest feeling of being watched. Soon I found myself walking along the street that the jewelry store with the winged bracelet was on. I rounded a bend, and suddenly found myself surrounded.

"Hane Senshin! It's time to pay you back for our humiliation!" the gang leader shouted. I sighed.

"Are still upset that I chucked you all into the town square fountain? Not my fault! You guys are the ones who wanted to start a fight with my gang," I said referring the group of street rats I ran with. "Run along now, before I have to humiliate you again."

He gnashed his teeth.

"Get her!" he shouted. Smirking, I readied myself to fight back with the ninjutsu Katsuyori had taught me over the years. Although I could never beat Katsu, it was more than enough to handle these goons. Chimu changed to his cougar form, huge and ready to fight the boys' dæmons.

But the attack never came. Instead, I saw a flash of silver, blue, and yellow, and suddenly the boys were all unconscious at my feet. I glanced at the only other boy standing there and stared. A boy around my age, maybe a bit older, stood there. He had silver hair, medium length. He had pretty green-blue eyes. But it was what I didn't see that made me gawk. He had no dæmon, so he must have been another rare twinless twin. Funny…I had thought I knew all the twinless twins around here…

"You okay?" he asked. I shrugged.

"Yeah, but I could've had them! So are you new around here?" It was an innocent question, but the boy suddenly seemed nervous.

"Is it that obvious?" he asked. It may have been me, but he sounded panicky.

"Not really. Just to me, maybe. I know almost everyone in town, and I don't recognize you. Here for the Battle of the Bands?"

"Huh? Bands…Battle, yeah, I'm here for the concert!" I just stared him with a weird look. Reaching to pat Chimu's head and reassure him the boy meant no harm, I noticed a bag that dropped from one of the boys. "Hey!"

"What?" asked the silver-haired boy. I stooped and grabbed the sack. I peered into it.

"Those boys robbed that jewelry store!" I exclaimed angrily. "And, omigod, they tried taking _it_!" Ignoring the silver guy's stares, I couldn't believe my luck as I held up the winged bracelet. I knew I was tempted to just take the thing, since Chimu was now a raccoon. He'd only ever used that form when I was a delinquent and a thief. Not liking to speak aloud in front of strangers, Chimu glared at me and changed into a dove. I sighed.

"Right. Well, thank you, but I should go return these to the store they belong to," I told the boy apologetically.

"I'll come too. I'm a bit lost anyway," he offered. I shrugged.

"Sure. C'mon." I paid little attention to the silver-haired boy until Chimu, back as a squirrel, whispered in my ear, "He has a really, really weird smell. Not of Arvia."

"You mean like, from the wild lands?" I asked thinking Chimu meant Arvia as in the biggest city in our world. He shook his head; his whiskers tickled.

"No, like…not from this world." I paused and watched the boy follow us from the corner of my eye. My mind reeled with possibilities. Soon we arrived at the jewelry store. The owner was in a panic.

"Not now children!" he cried as we entered. He was pacing back and forth. "I've been robbed! The authorities will be here soon. Shoo now!"

"But sir, we've got –" the boy started, but I stopped him. I winked. "Let me handle this.

"Well then, I guess we'll leave. It's just that I was ambushed by some thugs not more than five minutes ago. I found this little bag here," I shook it, "and realized it might be yours. But if you want us to leave, we'll just turn it in to the police. We'll wait outside."

"Wait! Come back! You have my stolen jewels?" the store keeper almost shouted. "You rescued them! Come, I will reward you!"

I grinned. We handed him the bag, and he shoved smaller bags towards us.

"Here. Six hundred munny for both of you," he said. "Don't tell anyone what got stolen, got it?"

"Right sir, our lips are sealed! 'Bye now!" We hurried out of the store.

"What was that about? Why didn't you just give him back the jewelry?" the silver-haired boy asked. I grinned mischievously.

"'Cause," I said, "He's got some stuff made of a banned substance. If I handed it over to the police, they would have confiscated it. All the Tealis Gold goes to the city as money for hospitals and schools. By inadvertently threatening him with police investigations, we're assured that we get rewarded. This here sack of munny is going to the hospital for orphans."

"Wouldn't you have gotten the same result if you just handed over the bag to the police?"

I shook my head. "You've no sense of adventure, do you? The town hall is that way if you're lost. 'Bye now!" I waved as I walked away. It was after I had dropped off the money at the town hall and was through the great stone gates of the boarding school that I realized I never bothered to ask his name.

**(O(o)O)**

**/POV: Kane/**

"NiGHTS!" I cried as I shot awake. Loki, surprised at the sudden yell, turned into a frog and jumped so high, he hit the ceiling, then fell to the floor and landed on some broken glass.

"YEOW!" We both screamed as we held our bottoms. Loki finally made it to my bed.

"What the hell?!" he snarled, shape shifting to a large bull.

"S-Sorry! I-I just had this weird dream and well..." I trailed off.

"What?! I got glass in my ass because you had a stupid nightmare!" Loki fumed. Then turned into a fish and flew to the other side of the room. My face became a bit sad as I remembered the dream.

"But... It wasn't a nightmare," I whispered to myself. Was that all just a dream? I remembered what NiGHTS had said before I woke up.

"_We'll see each other again!"_

I smiled.

"Oi! I'm hungry! Since we're both awake now, let's go grab something to eat," Loki meowed loudly as he turned back to his cat form. I sighed.

"All right," I said. He jumped into my arms and I walked out of my room. As I did, I saw a man with longish silver hair, walking away from Hane's room.

_'Who was that?'_ I wondered. _'Probably a secret admirer.' _I shrugged it off then walked towards the kitchens.

**(O(o)O)**

**/POV: Hane:**

"So how's that for a weird day or what?" I asked Chimu once I collapsed on my bed in the dormitories. Kane's room was next door. She'd already gone to bed.

"I think that I want to sleep," Chimu complained.

"Fine then," I pouted, but he knew I was teasing. I turned off the light and snuggled under the covers. As I rolled over, I felt something shift under the pillow. "Hmm?"

"Is that –" Chimu asked as I held up the object in the dim light from the street lamps. It was a bracelet, with two charms the shape of wings hanging from the chains.

"It is."

**(X(x(X(x)X)x)X)**

Hey look, a decently sized post! Let's make this a pattern…

Alright, so it's taking a while to get off Arvia. But we've got the wheels in motion, and they're gathering speed! We thank you for reading this far and ask you to continue!


	5. Arvia part three

**Previously:** _"Ah, yes. Hane, I think that Disciples of Fate should not participate this year," he said. I stared at him abhorred. _

_"But we've been practicing this song for this specifically! You can't just tell us not to play!" I retorted, ready to fight for my band's place._

_"Easy! I didn't say I didn't want you to play!"_

_"Explain," I said. Chimu was growling, in his form of a cougar. Rufus's dæmon was now preening her feathers nervously._

_"I want you to be judges this year!" he said. Chimu went from a cougar to a red-tailed hawk as my eyes widened._

_"Really?!"_

_"Yes! I'm sure everyone in all of Arvia knows you'll win the competition, and the Battle of the Bands won't be much of a battle if you're always winning. It's not even an option to ask you to forfeit, so instead, the council and I decided you'll be one of our judges! You'll open up the competition, so don't think that you won't get to perform. Does this all sounds okay?" _

_As happy and excited as I was, I knew I'd need to talk with the others. "I'm absolutely thrilled! But it's the entire band's decision, so I'll have to talk it over with them."_

Rufus nodded in understanding. "Of course. Well let me know when you have a definite answer."

**(O(o(O(o)O)o)O)**

**/World: Arvia**

**POV: Third Person:** "Good, so you got her that charm?" Mickey asked Riku. He nodded. Roxas, Mickey, and Riku had all meet back up at the city park, which was abandoned at the current desolate hour. They could clearly see the boarding school the twins who were to be the next Keyblade masters were sleeping in.

"I don't see why it was that important though. It was just some bracelet," he remarked. "And I may have been hallucinating."

"Then we'll go over it again. Describe, in detail, what you saw."

Riku sighed. "She picked up that little bag the gang had, and she realized they had robbed some jewelry store. Her eyes went wide, her animal creature, her dæmon, changed from a cougar to a raccoon, to a dove, all as she stared at this bracelet she pulled out. While she held it, I saw two shapes similar to a Keyblade and felt my own Keyblade pulling at her, like you said yours did before."

"So you then had Riku buy the thing and meet up with me, so we hid it in her room. Why? Riku only gave you confirmation that she's a chosen," Roxas said. Mickey sat glass-eyed before responding, "I think that she needs the bracelet to help her manifest her Keyblade, once she is able to summon it. That could prove to be a handicap, but so long as she gets her Keyblade…we can't have her defenseless against the Heartless. Now will her sister need a catalyst for the summoning as well? Roxas, keep an eye out for that."

Roxas nodded. "I have a question though. Why is there more than one Keyblade master? I mean, it was understandable enough when it was just you, Sora and Riku, but now these girls? How many masters are there?"

Mickey smiled knowingly. "That is actually something I never got explain back in Radiant Gardens. There is a legend that dates back to the time where the worlds were all one world. It involves eight warriors who protected Kingdom Hearts before and after the world split into many. They were known as the Warriors of Heart, and they traveled all throughout the universe coming to the aid of the people wherever darkness tried to take over. It is said they used a dream world as a gateway to the worlds. The world had many names, but now not many know even a one.

"But what is best known of these warriors," Mickey's eyes sparkled, "is that they could use a mystical weapon called a Keyblade."

Roxas and Riku stared at him. "So these warriors…"

"The Warriors of Heart."

"Yeah…they were the first Keyblade masters?"

"Well, we only assume so. The Warriors were constantly reincarnated since they didn't live long enough to fight all the darkness. Their souls were constantly reborn, and new individuals would use the Keyblade to defend the worlds' hearts."

"Then how did the darkness grow so rapidly?" Riku asked.

"It is said they not only had to protect the worlds, they also had to defend themselves from a Dark Queen who wished revenge on them. Revenge on what, I do not know, but she swore to kill the Warriors until they stopped being reborn. I can only presume she succeeded. With the Warriors in limbo, the darkness was able to multiply to the point where entire worlds were being swallowed," Mickey replied.

"Then…what made them come back?" Roxas asked. "If this legend is true, than there are eight in all who can wield the Keyblade. And those who wield the Keyblade…"

"…Are the Warriors finally reborn," Riku finished. "Does that mean the three of use are the reincarnations of one of those warriors?"

Mickey nodded slowly. "But I'll say it now, there's no positive proof. Whether or not we have the souls of ancient warriors, our duty is to protect the worlds. Though I'm not too sure what is brewing, I know that we need to be prepared, and to be prepared, we should first train these girls and prepare them for their duty as Keyblade masters."

"Wait, so if, and I mean _if_, we're these Warriors of Heart, and there's eight of us, that means we need three more masters to be eight," Riku remarked. "Does that mean we'll need to find those other three?"

Mickey looked down at the ground. Roxas and Riku could see the remorse in his eyes.

"I don't think we'll need to search for them. I think they've already been found," he said quietly. He looked at Riku, who then understood.

"We not only have to fight the darkness, or whatever is brewing, we have to save our comrades. Do you think that Kairi and Sora were captured because they could be the reincarnations of the Warriors of Heart, not just because they were involved in the downfall of our previous enemies?" Riku asked. Roxas nodded his thoughtfully.

"That makes sense. Remember, Riku, they were after you too. I bet'cha that's where Goofy and Donald went, your Majesty."

"But don't Goofy and Donald use other weapons, not a Keyblade?"

The King smiled. "Well think about it. Not even you two can fight the Heartless with just a stick, but you don't have to because you are able to summon the Keyblade. If you can't fight the Heartless with a normal weapon, then shouldn't Donald's wand and Goofy's shield yield the same results?"

"Ah. They don't because they don't have normal weapons. They may not summon Keyblades, but they can wield weapons that have the same caliber as a Keyblade. So if our unknown enemy has Donald and Goofy, along with Kairi and the rest of Sora, then it's just us and the twins," Riku reasoned.

The three of them sighed.

"Well, I better get to following Kane…"

"Yeah, gotta start stalking the angry one…"

"Good luck fellas!"

**(O(o)O)**

**/World: Arvia**

**POV: Hane Senshin:**

"So lemme get this straight. You got ambushed, but before you could take them out, some guy with silver hair jumps in, knocks them all out, and later on stuffs that bracelet under your pillow?" Katsuyori asked. It was the next morning; the Summer Festival had already started in the early hours and tonight would be the Battle of the Bands. Katsu and I were sitting on the outdoor stage in the park. The place sure did bring back lots of memories. The actual Battle of the Bands would take place indoors at the newer and bigger auditoriums.

"Yeah. At least, that's what I can come up with. I mean, there's only one bracelet like this, right?" I asked lifting up my right wrist. I kept the thing in a whole piece, though I could separate it and wear only one part if I wanted. The two wings jingled together and sparkled in the bright sun. It had been a pain revealing how much I'd coveted the thing to Katsu, but he didn't think I was vain or anything. He was as mystified about it as I was.

"Are you sure it's the same one in that shop?"

I nodded. "Yep. Went there this mornin' to ask. He told me a boy in his middle-late teens had come in and bought it. A boy with silver hair and no dæmon."

"Well…" Katsu had a dark look on his face. Chimu was a cougar now, lounging in the sun on the wooden stage floor. I reached out and patted him on the head.

"Well…what?" I asked him.

"I don't like this. Somehow he figured out you wanted that bracelet, and I'm thinking the only way to do that is to have you tell someone, which you didn't, or have watched you long enough to see you visit the shop. And then once he bought it, which tells me that he has money and lots of it, he knew where you lived, and even which dorm room was yours. He was able to get in, and put in under your pillow. I don't like this."

I stared at him. "You think I may have a stalker?" I was seriously creeped.

Katsu shrugged. "That or Casper stole it and put it your room." …Did Katsu just joke?

"Hi everyone," my sister called. I knew it was Kane; we're twins, I'd better know her voice. "Wow Hane, that's a pretty bracelet! Do you have a secret admirer?" Loki was snickering in her bag.

I blushed, and replied furiously, "NO! I _could_ have a stalker though."

"Oh, you mean the guy with the silver hair?" I started and stared at her.

"You knew he was following me?!" I shouted.

"Yeah, I saw him drop it off at the dorm," she replied. She looked completely innocent. I knew it was a mask. Evil sister. "I think he's cute…What? What's with the look?"

I just stared at her. Never, in my life, had I heard her say anything like that about any man (or woman). Never. Chimu was a big fish, big eyes and all.

"What?" she asked again.

"Bad Kane," her dæmon told her, "you said that in a completely wrong way!"

"Eh…? Ah! No, no, no, no! I meant he has, uhm, nice hair!" she stammered. Chimu was now a lemur, big, big eyes. Even Katsu was staring a little.

"Did you get into the coffee again?" he asked. He was obviously remembering that fateful day when we turned thirteen. Oh…the pain…

"No!" she protested. "I'm just saying! D-don't you have to get to the judging tables for the Battle of the Bands?!"

Katsu and I shook our heads.

"Not 'till tonight." I could tell she was screaming, "damn!" in her mind.

"Then…then let's go check out the rest of the festival, eh Hane?" she asked. She seemed so desperate for a change of subject I laughed and agreed.

"Where to first?" I asked. Chimu was back as a cougar. He'd been taking on that form a lot lately.

"The water balloon throwing contest?" suggested Kane. I nodded. "Sure!"

"I'll come too," Katsuyori said. "To watch out for that stalker," he added when I gave him a curious look.

"Of _course_ you may come," Kane added. Loki was sniggering for some unknown reason. He usually does that. I think he may have been born sniggering. She shoved his head further into her bag and asked, "Shall we go?"

"Yeah!"

**(O(o)O)**

**/ Kane Zenshin:** Stupid Katsuyori! It's bad enough he steals my sister, why does he have to steal our time together?! And Loki is not helping either! I don't want Hane to know I hate her friend!

To exact my frustration, I kept "accidentally" throwing water balloons at Katsu. "Accidentally." During the time, I noticed two people watching us. One was the silver haired boy. Was he really stalking my sister? I wonder if I should confront him or something…but in the end I decided he was just a harmless fan. But I wonder what the blonde boy was looking at? Loki? He was a strange dæmon, or at least according to Chimu, but that could be because they don't get along well.

We finished the water balloon fight and went into the hall of mirrors. While in there, I figured this could be my chance to get rid of Katsuyori. I grabbed Hane, putting my finger over my lips, and we snuck to another part of the maze so we lost him (huzzah!). Once we were alone, I released her hand. She asked, "How come you want to leave behind Katsu-sensei?"

"Because we haven't spent anytime together yet! Don't you think we should have some sister time?"

Chimu transformed to a squirrel and balanced himself on Hane's shoulder. "Yeah," he said, "It's the Summer Festival; this is family time!"

Loki turned into a winged fish and settled himself on my head. I looked at all the mirrors around us. I smiled as my reflection smiled back all around us.

"When I was younger, I used to love the Maze of Mirrors," I remarked. "Whenever I saw my reflection, I was never alone."

Hane's face softened, which I'm proud to say she only does for Chimu, or me and replied, "Yeah, but you've got me. You'll never be alone when I'm here."

I smiled brightly at that, and yet, my heart felt like it was being stabbed. "I know," I told her. But my heart was saying,_ You've already begun to leave…_

I grabbed her hand once more, and told her, "Let's go on some of the other rides before Katsuyori shows up again." Hane grinned that big smile she always has and shouted, "Yeah! Er," she then whispered quietly, "Yeah!" I giggled as we left.

We went on the Avalanche, the bumper cars, the roller coaster (which I threw up on) and then we watched a magician perform. I was so happy… It was just Hane and I, the way it used to be. I had so much fun… that I didn't want it to end. But as I have come to know very well, all things must end. It was 6:00 now and soon Hane would have to go and judge the Battle of the Bands.

"Let's go on one more ride!" I said, with a large smile.

"Ferris Wheel!" she said joyfully. I laughed. "Of course!" We are twins after all.

"Aren't you teenagers? Why do you act like such children!" Loki complained. To Chimu, an otter, he said, "You should be ashamed to call yourself a dæmon!"

Chimu stuck his tongue at him. I laughed at them as we made our way to the Ferris Wheel.

Once we were at the top, we sat in quiet staring out over the city. It was huge, and the lights speckled the black ground like fallen stars.

"Hey, Kane?"

"Hmm?"

"Can I tell you something?" she asked quietly. Quiet and Hane in one sentence don't typically go together, so I knew it was serious.

"Of course, you can tell me anything!" I told her.

"Have you ever wanted to travel?" When she said those words, my heart froze. She wanted to…leave? But, but everything was fine! I was helping her make her dreams of the band come true, why would she want to leave now!?

"I've…never actually thought about. Haven't we traveled throughout our lives though?"

"No, I mean to other worlds…or at least beyond this city," she said staring out over the city.

"Why? Do you? Want to travel, that is…" I asked her.

"Yeah…I want to see what the others worlds are like…the differences they have…I want to explore the unknown," she said, eyes all glazed. I closed my eyes. She did want to leave. But that was my sister, never a boring person.

"Don't you want to know what lies out there?" At that I had no answer. Did I? Did I want to see other worlds? I'd never thought about it. Finally I said, "If it's with you."

She beamed. "I'm really glad you said that. Because I don't think I could go exploring other worlds without you. Who would make sure I didn't kill myself?"

I laughed. "I don't think I have _that_ power though." I looked down at the city's main clock. "It's almost time for the Battle of the Bands. We'd better leave if you want to judge."

"What do you mean, 'me?' Aren't you coming too? You're a member too," Hane said.

"Oh! Uh, of course! Just a grammar error!" I replied hastily. "We'd better go!""

**(O(o)O)**

**/Hane Zenshin:** We barely made it to the auditoriums before the first band started. I felt Katsu's eyes burning into my back as I took my seat and tried to not keel over from an asthma attack. Kane and Loki looked ready to die from exhaustion, indeed, Loki was barely conscious. Do you know how far it is from the Ferris Wheel to the auditorium? Of course not! You don't live here! But it's far! Chimu was trying to revive a now unconscious Loki so Kane wouldn't fall.

"Sorry…I made…us late!" Kane whispered between breaths. I waved her apology away.

"Not…your …fault!" I gasped back.

The bands that night were amazing, but I was able to spot what each one did wrong. Between the rest of the band, we decided a winner. I had noticed Kane didn't seem all too into the music though. Probably just exhausted from the day.

As we stepped up to take the stage, I felt the familiar rush of excitement run through. I thought nothing could spoil this wonderful day. Until I hit the second chorus.

Something hit me in the back of the head, almost knocking me over. The rest of the music stopped, so I knew something was up with the rest of the gang.

"What the hell?" I shouted. I turned to find Kane. Something felt wrong, really wrong. The crowd was running away, screaming bloody murder. Suddenly I heard Kane's scream.

"Kane!"

**(X(x(X(x)X)x)X)**

_Wow! Over 30 hits within three days of first starting to post. HBT feels loved, and GWNL is seeing possibilities. Thank you for reading! But, if it isn't too much time, could you possible leave us a review? Give us some feedback. We want to know how you guys feel, and you suggestions. Of course, we understand if you have a slow internet and can't. We'll just try to take in your good karma waves _

_The song the twins were performing is the one in part three by the way. It just seemed pointless to post it again, but since people can get all technical…it's "FantasMic" by Nightwish from their album Wishmaster. Please keep reading!_


	6. Arvia Bandit's Desert

**Previously:** _As we stepped up to take the stage, I felt the familiar rush of excitement run through. I thought nothing could spoil this wonderful day. Until I hit the second chorus. _

_Something hit me in the back of the head, almost knocking me over. The rest of the music stopped, so I knew something was up with the rest of the gang._

_"What the hell?" I shouted. I turned to find Kane. Something felt wrong, really wrong. The crowd was booking it away, screaming bloody murder. Suddenly I heard Kane's scream._

_"Kane!"_

**(O(o(O)o)O)**

**/World: Arvia**

**POV: Third Person:**

Hane quickly turned and saw a black object the size of a medium sized dog that had creepy yellow eyes and weird antennas sticking out of its head leaping at Kane, claws at the ready.

"KANE!!" she yelled, charging the thing with her microphone stand, but before she made it to her sister, a boy with spiky blonde hair and blue eyes appeared with what looked like a large key. He swung the giant key like a sword at the thing and it vanished.

"Are you alright? Did the Heartless hurt you?" the boy asked Kane, who stared at him in bewilderment.

"Um… N-no…" she said. He smiled, making her blush.

"Good, we can't have you hurt, now can we?" he said.

"Oi! Less flirting, more fighting!" the silver haired boy shouted to the blonde.

"Yeah, you have a right to speak you stalker!" Hane shouted at the silver haired one. The boy looked at her with bewilderment before turning his attention to the black beasts. Hane furiously tried hitting the things with her microphone stand, but she wasn't even fazing them. She needed a weapon like the boys. Pushing her way to Kane, she asked her, "What the hell are these things?" Hane noticed the Heartless things were going after her and her sister only. She hadn't been ripped apart yet because the silver haired boy was protecting her. This infuriated Hane.

"Riku, you see the King anywhere?" the blonde shouted to his companion.

"Right here fellas!" came a shouted. Hane was shocked to see a giant mouse with one of those sword keys. "The gummi ship is this way!"

The silver haired boy turned to Hane. "You and your sister have to come with us, c'mon!"

Hane stepped back. "Who are you? _What_ are you?"

"More importantly…_what the hell is going on?!_" Loki shouted, clawing the blonde, who grabbed him and shouted, "Hey! What is your problem?"

Hane immediately punched the boy to the ground. "Don't you _ever_ touch her dæmon again."

"Ompf!" the blonde groaned as he slid across the stage. The silver haired boy turned to Hane. "What is _your_ problem? He's trying to help! If you come, the Heartless will stop attacking!"

Hane glared icily at him, helping Kane stand up. Usually when another touched your dæmon, the shock was enough to stun a person. "Why should we believe you?" Chimu was in his fiercest form, the cougar, and was growling at him.

Kane looked around at the destruction. Hammi and Kammi were hiding behind Hammi's drums, with Katsu using his ninjutsu to keep the black things at bay. Although she secretly enjoyed Katsu having a hard time, she didn't want him to die. She tugged Hane's sleeve. "Hane, I think we should go."

Hane glanced down at her sister in surprise. "But we don't even know these people! They're obviously not from our world, and what…wait…not from our world…" She was still suspicious of the boys, but there was a new look of curiosity.

"Whether we trust them or not, these things are attacking our…friends. If we have to go with them to stop them, shouldn't we?" Kane reasoned. Hane saw complete sincerity in her eyes. After a moment, to her it felt like an eternity, Hane nodded.

"Fine," she told the boys, "We'll come."

"Sure, _now_ they come," the blonde muttered. Chimu growled at him, "Show some respect!"

Suddenly the giant mouse came up. "Right boys, and girls, let's get outta here!"

**(O(o)O)**

**/World: Space; Gummi Ship**

**POV: Hane Zenshin:** I glared at the silver haired boy. We were all crammed onto a spaceship that the mouse had called a gummi ship. True to their word, the black things had stopped attacking once they saw we were booking it, and had disappeared once Kane and I were aboard the ship. But I still glared. Mainly at the silver haired boy.

"What? Aren't you the least bit thankful we saved you?" he asked. I gave him a one fingered hand salute in response. Chimu couldn't take on his form of a cougar in the crowded space, but chattered angrily as a squirrel on my shoulder. But I wasn't the only one pissed. Kane turned to me with a cold stare and told me, "I blame you." Loki was glaring at everyone, but he always does that. I guess he'd recovered from being grabbed by the blonde boy. But to my utter amazement, Loki jumped from Kane's lap and onto the blonde's. Even Chimu stopped chittering.

We all stared at Loki in surprise, or at least, all of us from Arvia. I could only assume that the strange outsiders had no idea what a dæmon was to us.

"What?" Loki asked glaring at us. Chimu was staring, mouth open agape. "What are you doing!?"

"Sitting."

"But," Chimu stammered, "I thought you didn't like him!"

"I don't."

"Then why are you on his lap?!"

"Because I want to." Chimu stared.

"But doesn't it affect you?" I asked him. Did this boy have the same ability as Katsu-sensei?

"A little, but I don't mind. It feels nice and pleasant," Loki said with a teasing smile. Kane blushed while Chimu turned into a caracal and started trying to claw Loki.

"Whaah! Stop that! There's not enough room!" Loki shouted. The blonde picked Loki up and held him out at arm's length and said, "Take the fight outside please!"

"But there's only space!" Loki protested.

"Exactly," the blonde said. Before anyone else could respond, the mouse interrupted, "Aren't you all going to introduce yourselves?"

"Oh yeah…eh heh heh…I'm Roxas," the blonde said.

"I'm Riku," the silver haired boy introduced. He held out his hand. I just spat in it.

"Hane!" Kane said reproachfully. "You're acting like Loki!" She held her hand out to the blonde. "I'm Kane Zenshin, and that rude thing is Hane, my sister. Loki is my dæmon, and Hane's dæmon is Chimu."

Chimu was sniffing Roxas' hand. "Hey, Hane! He's like Katsu. I can touch him and not be affected."

I looked at Roxas curiously. "I'd ask you where you were born, but you're not from Arvia, so that's be useless. Do all outsiders not have dæmons?"

"A wha?"

Kane and I gave the boys weird looks. It was one thing for a twinless twin to not have a dæmon, but to not even know of them?! I explained what they were, but apparently of all the worlds the boys had been to, ours was the only one with dæmons. But they were from other worlds! I listened intently, all my loathing forgotten as they explained of the Keyblades and their previous adventures. They mostly involved a boy named Sora, but they shut up like clams when I asked where he was. I thought I'd rather have met Sora instead of Riku; he seemed much politer. Finally Kane spoke.

"This is nice and all, but what does this have to do with us and our world?" she asked. I nodded in agreement of her question.

"Yeah, as you saw, we don't have those neat little Keyblades, and the Heartless never bothered us until _you_ showed up," I told them. Riku and Roxas pointed to Mickey, the mouse.

"Ask him. We're following his orders," they said in unison.

"Oh gee, thanks fellas," Mickey said. "Well, ya see girls, when I was lookin' for Goofy and Donald, the ones who traveled with Sora…" He explained how he had run into our world and how his Keyblade reacted to us. Riku and Roxas added how their own Keyblades also reacted. Apparently my sister and I were to be the next Keyblade masters. Bull shit.

"Excuse me for asking – " Kane started to say, but Loki interrupted, "ARE YOU BLOODY INSANE?! Look at these girls, they can't fight those things! Especially that one!" He pointed to Kane. "You have got to have your wires crossed or something!"

'That's why I brought them along," Mickey said nodding to Riku and Roxas. "They're already Keyblade Masters, I want them to train the girls."

"You want _them_ to train them!? _That_ boy went down after one hit from Hane," he pointed to Roxas, "and _he's_ too uptight to teach anything else that doesn't already have a stick shoved up its ass!" He pointed to Riku. "Oh, we're doomed! We're going to die!" Kane glared at him. I applauded Loki's insults, although they involved insulting me.

"Nice to know you support us!" Kane snapped.

"I'm telling it like it is!" he snapped right back.

"Well, believe it or not, but those two are the best for training new Keyblade masters. All they learned they had to learn from experience. You two," the king now spoke to Kane and I, "are lucky to have them here to actually teach you. You can't even summon your own Keyblades yet, so it's best you stick close them."

Roxas leaned close to Riku and whispered, "When did we agree to any of this? I'm just curious."

"Good question."

"Look..." Loki said calmly. "If you send these two, we're all going to die. If you want to save the universe so bad, send that Sora kid!" Riku looked sad as he spoke.

"We can't..." he said slowly.

Then, quite suddenly, the ship started to jerk.

"Your Majesty! What's happening?" Riku shouted over the alarms that started blaring.

"I don't know! I think the Heartless may have sabotaged the engines! I'm hoping to land on that world over there!" the King shouted. I eagerly looked out my window. Despite the blaring noise and the jerking motion that'd make anyone with a sensitive stomach puke, I was excited to see the light brown world that was approaching closer. Yeah, I may have been close to dying not too long ago, but this was my first time outside the city, let alone the world itself. I was thrilled.

Until we hit ground.

**(O(o)O)**

**/World: Bandit Desert**

**POV: Roxas/**

I groaned as I painfully pushed myself up. What happened?

"Roxas! Are you alright?" I heard Riku call out. I groaned once again as I held my neck.

"I'm fine... But what hit us?" I asked as I stood. I heard Riku give an empty laugh.

"Before or after the ground?" he asked with a wry smile as he grabbed my arm when I stumbled. I chuckled, but stopped when I remembered King Mickey and the twins.

"Kane! Hane! Your Majesty!" I called as I looked around for them. After a few moments Mickey appeared from beneath a bit of the wreckage.

"I'm okay, fellas! What about the twins?" he called. Then we heard some loud grumbling.

"Stupid! Stupid! Who the hell was driving?! And what kind of ship doesn't have shields?! Or air bags for that matter?! But then what do you expect from a ship called, 'the Gummi ship?'" the voice grumbled. I recognized it immediately.

"Loki!" I said happily as ran towards the sand dune. There I saw both twins lying on the ground, passed out with swirlies in their eyes and Loki rubbing his head in monkey form while was Chimu also passed out, but in rat form.

"Are you alright?" Riku asked, although the way Loki was glaring at him told us that was probably a stupid question.

"You really want to know? Oh, lets see... First our world is attacked by Heartless, so we _have_ to go with you guys and end up in a very cramped ship, and _then_ we're attacked by Heartless indirectly and our twins decide they want to knock heads and pass out. What the hell do you think?!" Loki snarled as he jumped at Riku, transforming into a snake so he could strangle his neck.

"Ack!! Stop that!" Riku cried as he ripped him off. "What the hell is wrong with you?! I thought you couldn't touch me?"

"I just told you! The monsters, the crashing, the headaches, the twins...I have a lot of problems, Mister! And who cares? If I want to strangle you, I will strangle you!" Loki snarled.

"Well, don't take it out on me!"

I laughed. He was okay. I looked at the twins who were passed out. It looked like they hit each other's heads when we landed and so even Chimu was out cold. I carried them all closer to the remains of the Gummi ship while Loki and Riku continued to argue.

"Look, it's not my fault so stop blaming me already!"

"Oh, I don't blame you. I blame these idiotic twins and I blame whoever was driving the damn ship!" Mickey shifted nervously.

**(O(o)O)**

**/World: Night Dimension**

**POV: Kane Zenshin:**

**/Dream/**

Once again, I was falling through a field of multi-colored stars until I landed on the stone ground of the Dream Gate right in front of the fountain. Wait. I was back at the Dream Gate? Could I really?

"NiGHTS? Owl?" I called, in low a yell at first, then my voice became louder. "NiGHTS?" When there was no reply, I became a bit sad. I then realized that Loki wasn't there. Was only I able to come here? Then I felt someone tap my shoulder. I turned and was startled when I saw NiGHTS with his cheeks pulled out.

"Boo!"

"WAUGH!!" I exclaimed as I fell back to the ground in surprise. NiGHTS clutched his stomach as rolled around in the air.

"Ha, ha, ha! Oh, man! You should have seen your face!" he laughed.

"NiGHTS!" I whined. "That wasn't funny!"

"You didn't see the look on your face," he chuckled as he pulled me up. "But I'm sorry. I guess I shouldn't have startled you. But now that you're here, we can finally go explore Nightopia!"

"Oh, yeah!" I said, remembering the paradise Owl talked about. "Let's go!" But before I could even take a step, a shadow appeared below me and began to envelope me. "AHH!!"

"Kane!" NiGHTS reached out and grabbed my hand and we managed to Dualize before the shadow consumed us both.

**(O(o)O)**

The next thing we knew, we were standing in a black void filled with mirrors.

'_Where... are we?' _I wondered as I looked around in NiGHTS body. It was weird. We were staring in all the mirrors, but none of them had our reflection. They were a bunch of other people, people I felt like I knew, and yet... Slowly I reached to touch the mirror in front of me but the moment my fingers touched the glass, the entire mirror suddenly shattered and we began to fall!

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!" NiGHTS and I screamed. I felt NiGHTS take over and try to fly, but for some reason, he couldn't.

"What the?! Ahh!" he cried.

We fell through what seemed to be water, but we could breathe. We then fell out of the water and NiGHTS regained his ability to fly and began to slowly glide down through what looked to be a bunch of stars that circled around us. Finally we landed on what seemed to be a floor that turned into a bunch of crimson butterflies when we came close to it. It revealed a floor that looked like decorated glass with a boy who had spiky brown hair and wore dark blue armor on it (GWNL: think Sora, wearing a dark blue knights armor, but it's not Sora). We looked around.

"Where are we?" I asked NiGHTS.

"I have no idea," NiGHTS said,

_So it is time._

I stiffened and NiGHTS looked around asked, "Huh? Who said that?" It wasn't a voice and yet I heard it.

_So much to do, so little time._

"Maybe you didn't hear me! Who are you?!" NiGHTS yelled as he whipped around, looking for the voice. This was all so weird. I was glad NiGHTS was with me.

_Take your time. Don't be afraid._

I didn't know why, but I felt I could trust it, so I relaxed a little, thus relaxing NiGHTS. But I was still curious.

_The door has been opened and closed. Now it is up to you to fix what has been broken for eons._

"Huh?" said NiGHTS.

"What's it talking about?" I asked.

"I don't know," NiGHTS said, frowning as he peered into the darkness. Suddenly three alters appeared. One had a wand, while the other had a shield, and the one right in front of me, had a long sword.

_The power sleeps within you. If you give it form... It will give you strength. Choose well._

NiGHTS frowned, thinking.

"What should we do, NiGHTS?" I asked. He shrugged.

"I guess we choose a weapon," he said.

"But which one?" I asked. NiGHTS tapped his chin in thought.

"Hmm... Well, I don't usually use weapons, but I guess I can give the sword a try," he said. Then we flew onto the alter and grabbed the sword.

_The power of the warrior. Invincible courage. A weapon of terrible destruction. Is this the power you seek?_

"Yes," NiGHTS said firmly. Then suddenly the staff vanished and a ball of light went into his chest.

_Your path is set. Now what will you give up in exchange?_

"Can't we keep them all?" I asked.

_No._

"Meanie," I grumbled. NiGHTS chuckled, then flew over to the shield. "Why give up the shield?" I asked.

"I actually prefer magic to a shield any day."

_The power of the guardian. Kindness to aid friends. A shield to repel all. You give up this power?_

"Yes," he said. Then the shield vanished.

_You're chosen the power of the warrior. You've given up the power of the guardian. Is this the form you seek?_

"Uh... I guess..." I said slowly. Then all the altars collapsed and vanished into the ground. Just then the floor beneath me shattered!

"Yikes!" NiGHTS and I cried out as we began to fall with the green shards. When NiGHTS regained his ability to fly we were on another floor that was like the last one, except the man was different. This time the man had long silver hair and black armor.

The sword suddenly appeared in NiGHTS's hand.

_You've gained the power to fight. Use this power to protect yourself and others._

"Huh? Wait. What does that mean?!" I exclaimed. Just then a shadow like thing appeared in front of me. I gasped as I recognized them to be Heartless! I took a step back as more appeared.

_There will be time you have to fight. Keep your light burning strong._

"What the bloody hell is that suppose to mean?!" NiGHTS yelled. One of the shadow things jumped at us and, NiGHTS took control and used the sword to destroy it and it disappeared. We looked around, looking for the rest.

_Behind you!_

We whipped around and saw the shadow!

"Bloody hell!" NiGHTS cursed. "What are these things?!"

"Um, Roxas said that they were called Heartless."

"Heartless?" He flew out of the way as a Heartless swiped at him.

"I'll explain later! Right now we have to deal with these guys!" I exclaimed, swinging the sword like crazy. NiGHTS took control back before I hurt myself.

"Relax!" he laughed. "I can handle these guys, piece of cake!" He held the blade and swooped down at the Heartless and destroyed them quicker than I could see. I was in awe at NiGHTS power. Whoa! He was just full of surprises.

When they were all gone, I thought we were safe. Suddenly the floor became covered in a shadow and we began to sink! NiGHTS and I fought and tried to get out, but it was no use. Finally we were completely pulled in. I gasped loudly as I thrashed around, having full control of the body. Then I noticed we were on another glass floor, but this time it was a woman with long, flowing, shadow black hair, holding a mirror.

Slowly, NiGHTS and I stood.

"This is weird, even for me," he commented as he stood. We walked forward. Suddenly were surrounded by the Heartless again!

"Oh, come on!" NiGHTS frowned as he tightened his grip on the sword. "Even the Nightmarens aren't this persistent!"

All I could say was that I was glad as hell NiGHTS was with me, or I would be dead! With a bunch of violent swings, he defeated them and suddenly a bunch of stairs appeared. We ran towards them and ran up them. The stairs were made of colorful glass I noticed. Finally we made it to the top and noticed a bright light. I stared up at it.

_The closer you get to the light, the greater your shadow becomes._

"Huh?!" Just then our shadow slithered away from behind us and became a giant monster that reminded me of a giant jester! I stepped back from it as NiGHTS tightened his grip.

_But do not be afraid._

I stepped back more, eyes wide with fear, as the giant shadow monster leered at us.

_And don't forget..._

The monster summoned a bunch of his smaller shadows and NiGHTS took control. Using the dream sword he charged forward and fought. He dodged one of the shadow as it attacked him. It was useless! The more he defeated, the more appeared. Finally, he decided to go for the boss and so we flew through the air and attacked the giant shadow monster. Using the sword, he slashed off the beast's arm, and he was about to deliver the final blow, the weapon vanished and the beast slammed the spot where we were floating. Good thing he dodged in time. He kept trying to hit us when suddenly NiGHTS and I were separated.

"Ahh!" I cried as hit the floor with a thud.

"Kane!" NiGHTS cried out. The shadows began to envelope both of us and I was scared stiff.

_--But don't be afraid._

I wanted to scream as the shadow enveloped me. But I didn't.

_You hold one of the mightiest weapons of all._

I thrashed as I tried to escape, reaching for anything.

_So don't forget:_

Finally I managed to scream. "AHHHHHHHH!!"

"Kane!" NiGHTS finally managed to grab my hand he pulled me into his embrace as we were both pulled into darkness.

_You are the one to fix it._

**(X(x(X(x)X)x)X)**

HBT & GWNL: BEHOLD! We are FINALLY off of Arvia. This technically means (in our eyes) the adventure has BEGUN! Sorry. We're happy today. New music…

_We're painfully aware the posts are fluctuating between too long and decently long. We're working on shortening them without leaving you at painful cliff-hangers. sigh Oh well…_

_So I'm sure we're agreed that Loki has a way with words. Ah Loki…the comedy relief. For now. HAHAHAHAHA!! (Pardon us while we go insane)._

_Please keep reading!_


	7. Bandit's Desert

**Previously**: _/Hane's POV: "I don't know! I think the Heartless may have sabotaged the engines! I'm hoping to land on that world over there!" the King shouted. I eagerly looked out my window. Despite the blaring noise and the jerking motion that'd make anyone with a sensitive stomach puke, I was excited to see the light brown world that was approaching closer. Yeah, I may have been close to dying not too long ago, but this was my first time outside the city, let alone the world itself. I was thrilled._

_Until we hit ground._

_/Kane's POV:"Kane!" NiGHTS cried out. The shadows began to envelope both of us and I was scared stiff_.

–But don't be afraid.

_I wanted to scream as the shadow enveloped me. But I didn't._

You hold one of the mightiest weapons of all_._

_I thrashed as I tried to escape, reaching for anything._

So don't forget:

_Finally I managed to scream. "AHHHHHHHH!!"_

"Kane!" NiGHTS finally managed to grab my hand as he pulled me into his embrace as we were both pulled into darkness.

You are the one to fix it.

**(O(o(O(o)O)o)O)**

**Bandit's Desert:**

**Hane:**

**Dream:** I started gaining consciousness. Or at least, within my dream-like state. I knew the sensation of floating, gently downward. I open my eyes all the way as my feet touched something solid.

I stood on a perfectly round platform that looked to be made of stained glass. It depicted eight figures with their backs to me, facing a girl with long, _long_ black hair who seemed to gazing into a mirror. There was something vaguely familiar about those eight fore-figures, but my mind, although clear and sharp, couldn't quite place it. I started to reach for my shoulder out of habit to pet Chimu when I realized he wasn't there.

My heart skipped several beats as I immediately felt naked, and…lonely. Was this what Katsu felt? This feeling of being exposed, without a comforting touch from your dæmon? I felt my eyes sting. A sparkling tear fell from my cheek.

Do not fear. What you seek lies within you.

I didn't know the voice. Or rather, it wasn't a voice, but a strange thought that echoed within my mind. But I knew it was referring to Chimu.

Reach for him, and you will find him.

Normally I'd question a voice that intruded in my head, but I listened. If I could find Chimu…

I felt for him, and found him inside myself. He was there…but it wasn't him. But he was there, and it was comforting. Suddenly I realized that he would appear only when he'd settled on a permanent form. This was all happening within the expanses of my mind, and Chimu was an 'outside entity.' I was at much more ease upon realizing all this.

_The door has been opened and closed. Now it is up to you to fix what has been broken for eons._

"Say what?" I asked. I was abnormally calm. I felt slightly jumpy, but I was taking this all in stride, which surprised even me. Too bad Kane couldn't be here to witness me not freaking out for once.

The power sleeps within you. If you give it form...it will give you strength. Choose well.

Three altar platforms appeared evenly on the round space. The middle one held a sword, the one to the left held a shield, and the one to the right held a wand, or staff. The voice had said to choose, so I walked forward. I lingered on the sword, but turned abruptly and pulled myself onto the altar with the shield.

The power of the guardian. Kindness to aid friends. A shield to repel all. Is this the power you seek?

I glanced back at the other altars. The power to aid friends… I was calm and confident of my choice as I said aloud, "Yes. This is the power I seek." Maybe it was my imagination, but I almost felt Chimu nodded in approval.

The shield vanished into an orb of light that flew into my chest. I felt it mold into Chimu. A warm sensation spread from my fingers to my toes.

Your path is set. Now what will you give up in exchange?

I had to give something up? Well, I suppose that was how the world worked. The staff, or the sword? Which would I discard? I jumped from the altar, my chains jingling around me, my boots making a loud clunk on the ground. I walked up to the sword and tentatively grasped the handle.

The power of the warrior. Invincible courage. A weapon of terrible destruction. You give up this power?

"Yes." I wasn't too hesitant in answering. The sword vanished, but it didn't do anything else. It just disappeared. I almost felt something being pulled from Chimu.

You've gained the power of the guardian. You've given up the power of the warrior. Is this the form you seek?

"Yes." The moment I spoke, the ground I stood on shattered, sending me falling down. My descent slowed little by little until I lightly landed upon the next platform. This one held three fore-figures. I recognized the one to the right. The silver hair and green eyes told me it was Riku. The boy in the middle looked a lot like Roxas, but I knew it wasn't him. The mysterious hero, Sora, maybe? The last figure in the front was of a girl with purple eyes, like Kane, but she had red hair. Riku had mentioned a girl…I think. What was the name? Started with a 'K' like Kane…

While I pondered over the name, I realized there were three other figures, standing behind the ones in the front. They were almost like shadows. I saw Roxas behind the boy in the middle. What did that mean? A girl that was eerily similar to the red haired girl as Roxas was to the boy in the middle stood behind the redhead. She had blonde hair, like, bright blonde, lighter than Roxas', and light blue eyes. (My eyes were definitely a darker blue.) There had to be some significance to how eerily alike the two figures in the back were to the ones in front of them. But the figure behind Riku didn't look much like him. He was tall, had a darker tone of skin than Riku, and there was an evil glint in his eye.

You've gained the power to fight. Use this power to protect yourself and others.

I snapped my head back up as the shield materialized in my hand. Several of those shadow things from Arvia, the things that Riku and Roxas said were Heartless, formed up from the ground and leaped at me. I barely blinked as I used my basic ninjutsu to fight them off. I soon realized that they wouldn't vanish until I hit them with the shield. It must be made of the same stuff as the Keyblades.

Once the Heartless were gone, I felt the ground beneath me shatter again. The sensation of falling is really quite pleasant when you're not worrying over the landing. Soon I landed on yet another platform thing. This one was of a woman in a lightweight armour, gazing up at me with a fierce grin. She held a bow in her hands, relaxed but ready to draw at a moment's notice. Several dog-like creatures gamboled about her feet. I felt something in my chest catch as I stared at her eyes, her blue, blue eyes, and her dark hair…

_There will be time you have to fight. Keep your light burning strong._

I didn't look up this time. The action took place on the glass floor. A shadow emerged from the ground, right where the woman's heart would be. It grew, spreading like a cancer, staining the glass. It grew and consumed the platform. I had been backing up, but now I was at the edge. The giant pool of swirling miasma halted, and more of those Heartless formed from it. I easily killed them all.

A light suddenly shone down on me. I stood in the middle, squinting up in the shining brilliance.

_The closer you get to the light, the greater your shadow becomes._

I glanced down. My shadow now grew, but it didn't form dozens of Heartless; it formed a giant Heartless, something close to fifteen times my size.

But do not be afraid. And don't forget...

"But why would I be afraid?" I asked aloud. "There is darkness within everyone, right? Is this mine?" The giant shadow loomed above me, its hand lurching toward me slowly, as if to provoke me. The voice didn't respond, so I assumed I was right. I knew I should step back from the giant, to stay from its range, but instead I calmly looked at it.

"You want me to run, right? You want me to fight this thing, and pass this test or whatever. But I don't want to run," I said. I stepped toward the thing. It faltered, as if unsure of why I was confronting it. "Everyone has a little darkness. If this is my darkness manifested, why should I run? Running only avoids the problem. Fighting? What's the point if it will always exist within me? So I confront you. I will face you, and accept what you are."

The shadow stilled, like a predator pausing before the great leap. It suddenly shot out its hand, as it to come down a crush me. I stood my ground, staring at it. The hand stopped inches from my face. A drop of sweat slide down my jaw line. The giant drew back its hand, tilted its head not unlike a curious bird, then slowly melted into a puddle of shadow. The shadow slithered towards me, and I let it slide up my leg. It was feathery soft and light.

It traveled up my torso and out onto my right arm. It swirled around my wrist, before it seemed to be sucked straight into the devil's wing on my bracelet.

Beware. You make a choice that not many choose. Those who have chosen this fate often are succumbed.

The ground shattered once more, but I fell faster than before. I wasn't going to land nicely.

If you ever succumb…abandon your soul. Don't let it be consumed. Leave it with the one who has no soul to call his own.

My descent grew faster. The calm aura I had before was fading fast. I felt panic blossom in my core.

Now fight! Fight to stop the present!

**End dream**

**(O(o)O)**

"Hane!" a voice shouted. I shot straight up and found myself in a well-lit room with small windows much like the port windows on the taxi-ships on Arvia. I turned to see Chimu as a normal longhaired cat. Worry was written all over his face and it was only when my initial panic faded did I feel exactly how scared he was.

"Chimu!" I grabbed him and crushed him in my arms. "It was so scary! You weren't there! You weren't there!" I didn't care that I was sobbing in relief.

"Hane, it's okay! I'm here now, I'm here!" he said, forcing calmness over me. It would have worked better if he weren't as freaked as I was. We sat there for a bit, and I explained that dream to him. Once we were both calm, I started wondering where the hell I was. I remembered the stage, back on Arvia, the Heartless…Now that the first initial rush was past, I wondered if I'd ever see my home again…no, not home…just a place I lived, a place where my loved ones resided. I thought about Katsuyori, Hammi, and Kammi. I knew I would miss the band if I never got to go home…music is what gives me my soul…

I shook my head, causing a stab of pain in my head, which turned to a dull, light throbbing. No, I needed to concentrate on the here and now, not on what I couldn't do nothing about. So, we left Arvia, I gave Riku the bird, spat in his hand – I grinned – and then…ah yes. We crashed on another world. That got me up and out of the bed. Looking out the port window, I saw nothing but varying shades of brown and yellow. It was what I remembered my books telling me, a desert. I knew for sure this room wasn't in a gummi ship, or at least, not the one we were riding. So where were we? My answer opened the door.

"Ah! Hane, you're awake," Roxas said as he, Riku, and a boy with blue hair entered. Chimu changed to a red fox, his form when he's uncertain or feels like being neutral, but at ready.

I nodded greeting to the trio of boys. "Where are we and where's Kane?"

"She's still sleeping off the crash. Her rooms is right across from yours, and no, she isn't hurt, not that we can tell," Roxas explained. "You both hit your heads on each other when we crashed, and you've been out for three hours."

Well, that could explain the slight throbbing near my temple. That would turn to a nasty bump later.

"Okay, so we crashed here. Where's here?" I asked. It was the blue haired boy who answered. He had large brown eyes and wore a cloak that billowed out when he moved.

"You're on Bandit's Desert. My name is Sanzon. We found your ship crashed out in the sand and helped you out," he said. He had a kind voice that told me he was Kane's type: Gentle, avoided violence, but could stand their ground if pushed.

"Who's 'we'?" I asked. At that moment violent shouting exploded from above our heads. Sanzon sighed as if this happened often. He left, and I followed, making sure to step on Riku's foot as I exited the room. As Sanzon and I got closer to some stairs, I could hear bits of the shouting.

"…NOT a CHIMP!"

"…eat like one!…"

"…weren't here to get your own!…"

"…don't THINK!! Our guests…!"

"Sanzon! Tell her that if those people want food they should have gotten their own! This is OUR food, and we don't have enough to share!" a red-haired boy complained as we entered a larger room, round at the end with lots and lots of windows. A table was filled with piles of empty plates. Bits and crumbs were all that remained of what had to be a feast. Suddenly my stomach gave a loud rumble. Those blue apple pies from the festival seemed years ago.

"Umgle, these people were lost and hurt in the desert! It wouldn't have hurt to have given them at least a little," Sanzon sighed. A girl with short black hair, like me, and brown eyes was glaring at the one called Umgle (pronounced 'go-KU.' Don't ask why, just do it). If looks could kill…

"Ahh, yer too nice! We can't afford to help every person we meet! That's why Miyon takes such advantage of ya sometimes!" Umgle said.

"Likeyou'reonetotalk,"grumbled Sugi. Sanzon laughed nervously_. _

"Now, now..." he kyuued.

The room was then aware of my presence. I felt Roxas and Riku follow up behind me. I took pleasure in hearing Riku limp. I love combat boots.

"Hey! Don't worry about me! I'll eat once we get back on the gummi ship and to wherever these morons were taking us," I told them. Sanzon looked like he was about to say something, but Umgle's face suddenly appeared right in front of mine.

"Uh, can I ask you what you are doing?" I asked him, resisting that urge to punch him.

"You have blue eyes, but you look like Sugi. I didn't know they had robots on other worlds, and first generation no less!" he said. I blinked at him.

"Say wha-?" I backed up.

"You've got blue eyes. You're a first generation robot, like me, you and blondie. Mister Attitude is a second generation, he's got green eyes," Umgle said like it explained everything. I held up my hand.

"Yeah…no. Get this you chimp, I am HUMAN. Can't say the same for the other two, but I'm sure they're not robots. People in my world have twins, and they have either blue and purple, or green and brown. We come in pairs, and usually you can only tell one twin apart by hairstyle or eye colour. But I'm no robot." I looked around. No one else had a dæmon…would all the worlds not have dæmons? Yeah, the boys had mentioned earlier of all the ones they'd been to hadn't had dæmons, but still…

"Outer world people are strange…" Umgle shook his head. Then he did what I hated the most about men. He gave my chest and eyeful and grinned. His hand started going for under my skirt and I gave in to that impulse to punch.

"Pervert!" I shouted connecting my fist to his face…

…and watched him fly right through the wall. He kept going, going…gone. Riku, Roxas, and I were left staring through the gap while Sanzon and the girl, Sugi, just sighed.

"Holy shit! That's some punch!" Riku said stepping away from me a little.

"Oh dear, I should have warned you about him and his love for…women," Sanzon sighed. "Oh well, I guess he had that coming. I'll go let Tongle (Ton-GO) and Quo (Joe) know that once they're done with your gummi ship that we've got a wall to fix…"

He left. The girl was angrily shaking her head. "You'd think, after all the times that that's happened that stupid chimp would know not to try anything! And our food! No dinner for him when he makes it back!" She stopped muttering and motioned for me to follow her.

"You boys, go help out with your ship. If you want off our world quick you should see what you can do for Quo. Now, if you don't mind, could you help me make some more food? The boys will be hungry soon," she said. Normally I resented being ordered, but I was still in awe of watching the chimp, er, robot, fly through a wall.

"I'm warning you, I'm no good in a kitchen. Trust Chimu," I said. Normal people didn't trust me if I told them 'Trust me,' but they would trust my dæmon without a doubt. But she obviously didn't trust him, or me, since we found ourselves amidst of pots, pans, and dangerous cooking utensils. Memories of flying knives, boiling soup, and pain flashed through my head.

"No, seriously, I'm a hindrance, not an aid here. I'd be much better at helping the boys. I'll even be nice to Riku if I can leave!" I told her, feeling slightly desperate. Sugi laughed.

"I won't make you cook. I just want to talk, y'know, girl stuff that boys hate," she smiled. She was a bit shorter than me, and wearing a yellow dress with a high collar. She was cute, but I'm a girl beneath my vulgar exterior, and I had that sense that she was vicious if need be. However, she wasn't timid like Kane.

Trusting that she wouldn't make me cook, I found a relatively harmless counter and leaned against it. Chimu was a squirrel on my head.

"So…I can tell you just started traveling with the boys. What's your story?" I told her about my world, the band, my sister, and how the Heartless invaded.

"So we followed them on the ship when we crashed here," I finished. Yes, I gave her the Dagwood and Blondie version, little details and straight to the point.

"All that seemed to happen so fast…have you even had time to think about any of it?"

"Come to think of it…not really. I mean…the Heartless were attacking the crowd, my band, my sister…I couldn't fight them, my attacks did nothing to them. I knew in some logical part of my brain that I had no choice but to go with the boys. But another part of me was enjoying it. Just the thrill of something different happening in my bored and stagnant life…This is the chance for that adventure I always wanted, but Kane isn't like me. She'd rather stay in the boarding school and not take chances. She might hate me for going, and consequently bringing her with me, but I needed to go. I love my band, but I couldn't even tour. I'd never been beyond my city limits. This…this is possibly my only chance to leave and take at least one adventure…" I stared out across the vast desert. I wondered if Kane would truly hate me if she heard me now. She wasn't outgoing like me, and she hated whenever I would drag her out to places. But then again…did we really have a choice? Could we really have just stayed there and let the Heartless attack my friends and fans? They were innocent people…as Kane and I were…right?

"So can you and your sister summon those nifty weapons?" Sugi asked.

"The Keyblades?" She nodded. I shrugged.

"From all the crapload of info they dumped on us before crashing, I'd say we will, but I know I can't right now. Maybe Kane can? Not sure."

Sugi gave me one last searching look, then said, "Well, sorry for dragging you here, but I wanted your side of the story. The boys explained most everything, and though they tried to deny they were from another world…"

"I think that's because we're not supposed to let anyone know we're not from here. Y'know, blend with the environment. Which I think is hard since I doubt the rest of the natives here walk around with chains hanging every which way," I grinned, giving a chain on my skirt a jingle. "And I doubt I look conservative."

She laughed. "True. I was just wondering, since the boys were adamant about not touching the little animals you and your sister have. I wondered if you were kidnapped of your world and if we should call the galaxy police or something."

I grinned. "Sad thing is, I think they might be the galaxy police if all those stories they told us are true. And Chimu is my dæmon. It's hard to explain, but he's part of my spirit. Most everyone has them back home. I think you all are freaks since not a one of you have one. No offense," I added hastily. But it was nice to know that the boys remembered the NO TOUCH rule. See, violence can be an answer sometimes. "Though I might have to agree with you on the kidnapped part, but it was voluntary. Think it more…blackmail. We go with them, they promise the Heartless will leave our world to follow us. Best deal I think we'll find."

Shouting suddenly ensued outside. I followed Sugi down to the ground level and out into the sand. I then realized I had been in a ship of some sorts, but it was shaped like some giant animal. A whale I think it was? Craziest thing was, I think it didn't fly…

Once we stepped out into Hell, er, sorry, the scorching desert, we saw the cause for the shouting. Heartless.

"Aaah! What are those?!" Sugi screamed falling back against the whale ship. I took up a jujutsu stance in front of her.

"Heartless, I think. Get back into that ship thing!" I shouted round housing a Heartless that leaped at us. She ran for it, but damn it all, she shut it behind her. I made my way to the wreckage of gummi ship where I saw Riku and Roxas fighting. Sanzon and what could only be his other friends were vainly trying to fight the Heartless.

I jumped into the melee, using all I had to fight back, but like back on the Arvia stage, I did little to them. Only Chimu was able to cause any damage in his cougar form, but it wasn't enough. Riku and Roxas were making more kills than Chimu was, and that was pissing me off. I don't like being outdone by people who have yet to earn my respect, especially when I have to make Chimu do all my work.

It was after Riku pulled me out of a sand dune and asked me while defeating another Heartless, "Can't you even fight?" that I really lost my temper.

"Well excuse me for not affecting the damned things!" I shouted at him punching a Heartless at him. He quickly disposed of it.

"Even the natives here are making leeway! I thought you were tough!" he shouted back, taking three out in one blow. "I guess it was all bark and no bite!"

I gnashed my teeth, fighting every urge to start hitting him and not the Heartless. But he had a point. I was next to useless without a Keyblade of my own. Damn it! If I was supposed to be this mighty master who's going to go around and protect the worlds, why couldn't I even protect myself? This wasn't fair!

"If you can't do anything useful out here go and hide or something!" Riku shouted knocking more Heartless away. I screamed in frustration, but had no choice but to listen to him and run back to the whale ship, Chimu still watching my back. I could feel his stamina fading slowly. Kane was in there still, presumably asleep. I could go, find a way in, and hide with her and Sugi.

Kane…I had to protect her! But if I couldn't even phase the damned creatures…how could I protect her?

I tripped right as I ran along the side of the whale ship, in search of the entrance. I fell forward, and hit my head, still cursing myself for not being helpful. My world started to fade…

"Whaa! Onee-chan! It hurts!" eight-year-old Kane cried. She held an injured Loki in her arms, as she tried to stumble towards me. I slid down the river embankment to where she had fallen.

"Stay still! You can't move or it will hurt more!" I told her as I quickly gave her a hug. She fell to the ground crying from pain and probably from feeling embarrassed. I sat there and held her, whispering comforting words to her as I did what I could to her scrapes.

"Can you walk?" I asked. She sniffed and slowly got up. Chimu anxiously watched as a cat, looking at Loki's barely conscious form in Kane's arms. "Come on, we've got to get to the town and get some food."

"Can't we go to the boarding school for once?"

"Yeah…I suppose you need the rest, and maybe even the doctor…eww…" We both giggled as we imagined the hated school nurse. Then the bushes rustled, and the town bullies emerged.

"Lookit here! Lil snobs! You can't come to our part of the river! Get 'em!" the gang leader shouted.

Kane hiccupped in fright. My own knees shook, and though Chimu had his little cat hackles raised, we could feel the other's fear. I stood protectively in front of Kane and shouted at them, "Come off it! This ain't your land! Leave us 'lone or I'll make you!"

They laughed and started towards us. I couldn't breathe. The fear was suffocating. But the worst was I wouldn't be able to protect Kane. Kane…no!

I felt a spur of anger. All I wanted was to protect my sister! I wanted a lot of things then…but the one thing I kept with me as I grew was the instinct to watch over her. We were all the other had. No one liked us, we were the 'dark-haired freaks' of Arvia city. All we wanted was to be in peace! Damn them!

The spark of anger flared into an inferno. I glared at the boys, who stopped in their approach. Chimu's tiny hiss was suddenly a full-blown growl, the growl of a giant cat. His first time as a cougar. He let out an ear-aching roar that sent the boys running.

I stood there, realizing something. If I turned hose nasty emotions that made me doubt myself into anger, I could protect her. I only had to use force…

I held Kane, whispering over and over as I rocked her, "I'll protect you, always. Endlessly."

I snapped my eyes open and propped myself against the whale ship. Sweat dripped from my face, my legs ached from trying to find traction in the sand, but I didn't care. Kane was inside that ship. I had promised to always protect her. This was the beginning of my journey, my long-awaited adventure. I can't fall short on my promises now!

I let out a cry of frustration. I wasn't useless!

"I WILL NOT BACK DOWN!!" I shouted to no one. I felt a burning on my wrist. I looked down and saw that part of the bracelet was glowing. The silver chain with the white-feathered wing charm was slightly levitating from my wrist. It flashed and suddenly I felt something materialize within my hand. I gripped the solid weight, felt the perfect balance, and held it before me.

I held a Keyblade, my very own Keyblade. It was in the general design of Roxas and Riku's, but with its own unique characteristics. It was covered in white feathers all up and down. There were several longer feathers that I knew were sharp as blades at the end, sticking out where the grooves that would unlock a normal door were. The hand guard was made of a pair of wings sticking out and circling, the tips ending and melding seamlessly into the bottom. At the very end was the silver chain and stone wing charm that had been the bracelet. Entwined all around the Keyblade was a black chain, a blue stain ribbon entwined in the chain itself. Its name rang out clearly in my mind. Animus. The Yin.

I smirked. Looking around I saw that the Heartless were crowding near Riku and the others. I wasn't supposed to be here. To protect everyone, I needed to be in the midst of the action, proving myself.

No longer would I allow myself to be useless.

"Let's go," I commanded Chimu. He smiled with his huge fangs, and followed.

**(X(x(X(x)X)x)X)**

HBT: Gomenasai! This post was too long again…and because it's so long we'll finish the fight in the eighth and next installment! Please keep reading!

And you get an example of how different the twins are. It was actually completely coincidental that the choices each twin makes on their "Dive to the Heart" are opposites. Upon our first times playing the first Kingdom Hearts, GWNL (in charge of Kane) choose the sword and gave up the shield. HBT did the complete opposite, choosing the shield and giving up the sword. When we were writing our assigned twin's "Dive to the Heart," we just put in what we did our first time playing. Lol, just goes to show that even though GWNL and HBT are best friends, we can be complete opposites.

The twins' choices also reflect what each twins holds deep down. Kane hates being weak and always being protected. NiGHTS feeds off that energy and chooses the sword, gaining strength, giving up her protection in the process. Hane is willing to give up that strength in order to protect those whom she loves.

Ah, the irony of the world. Gotta love it.

By the way, the world they are in, Bandit's Desert is from Monkey Typhoon, also know as Asobot Goku. Can't remember who the creator is, but credit is not ours. We know it's not a Disney movie, but GWNL and I already decided that all the worlds we want to add that are new cannot be completely Disney. We'd be resorting to High School Musical if we did. And we are NOT doing High School Musical. I'm sorry, but no. So some worlds will not be Disney, and we apologize for that.

Also, the review about how the KH tutorial was correctly written…The credit goes to my co-writer, GWNL. She is in charge of Kane, NiGHTS, and mostly Roxas. Most of the comedy is also her. Not everything in here is HBT's!! Give GWNL some credit!


	8. Bandit's Desert part two

**Previously:** "Ah! Hane, you're awake," Roxas said as he, Riku, and a boy with blue hair entered. Chimu changed to a red fox, his form when he's uncertain or feels like being neutral, but at ready.

I nodded greeting to the trio of boys. "Where are we and where's Kane?"

"She's still sleeping off the crash. Her rooms is right across from yours, and no, she isn't hurt, not that we can tell," Roxas explained. "You both hit your heads on each other when we crashed, and you've been out for three hours."

(O(o)O)

I held a Keyblade, my very own Keyblade. It was in the general design of Roxas and Riku's, but with its own unique characteristics. It was covered in white feathers all up and down. There were several longer feathers that I knew were sharp as blades at the end, sticking out where the grooves that would unlock a normal door were. The hand guard was made of a pairs of wings sticking out, the tips ending and melding seamlessly into the bottom. At the very end was the silver chain and stone wing charm that had been the bracelet. Entwined all around the Keyblade was a black chain, a blue stain ribbon entwined in the chain itself. Its name rang out clearly in my mind. Animus. The Yin.

I smirked. Looking around I saw that the Heartless were crowding near Riku and the others. I wasn't supposed to be here. To protect everyone, I needed to be in the midst of the action, proving myself.

No longer would I allow myself to be useless.

"Let's go," I commanded Chimu. He smiled with his huge fangs, and followed.

**(O(o(O(o)O)o)O)**

**/World: Bandit's Desert**

**POV: Hane:** With a shout I immediately joined the fray. Chimu was swatting Heartless every which way with his huge cougar paws, lethal claws ripping into them. The Keyblade swung in my hand easily, swiftly taking out the Heartless I turned it on. I felt that happy satisfaction of knowing I was pounding away my enemy, and that I was winning. I saw that Roxas and Riku had similar fighting styles (A/N: Remember, Roxas's style is similar to Sora's, whose style is similar to Riku's because they trained together back on Destiny Islands). My style was a combo of kenjutsu and ninjutsu: A deadly combination to normal people back home, and even deadlier to my enemy whom I was holding nothing back.

But it seemed no matter how many we destroyed, more appeared!

"Dammit! Just how many are there?!" Umgle yelled in annoyance and exhaustion as he panted.

"At this rate we're going to run out of energy before we can beat them!" the big man said as he destroyed some Heartless with his chain hammer. I was panting too. There were so many! Then through the corner of my eye I saw Sanzon pull out a strange looking harmonica. What was he doing? He began to play and the moment he did, a flood of light appeared and began to wash away the Heartless. With their mouths open in a soundless wail, the Heartless all vanished.

When they were all gone we all turned to Sanzon, who looked just as surprised as we did.

"What the hell?!" Umgle yelled as he grabbed him by the shoulders. "Since when could you do that?!"

"I honestly don't know!" Sanzon said back. "I just played the regular tune! I figured I should do _something_."

"Wait..." Roxas suddenly said. "Where exactly did you get that harmonica? How did you get something that has the power to fight Heartless?"

"W-well it was given to me by my father. But I think he got it in an exchange from another man called Ansem," Sanzon said.

"Ansem?!" exclaimed Riku and Roxas.

"Let's talk about this inside, fellas," said Mickey, who I just noticed was there. "I don't know about you, but after all that fighting I'm thirsty." Then he started to run towards the whale ship.

"Oy! Stay away from the water! Quo drinks enough of that as it is!" Umgle yelled as he ran after him.

"Well that was annoying. If you don't mind, Tongle and I are going back to work on your ship now," an unfamiliar man told us. He put away his little daggers and motioned for the large tiger-like man, Tongle to follow him towards what I saw was the gummi ship. I turned back to Roxas and Riku, about to tell them they were excellent fighters, but Riku started to say something else.

"What took you so long to summon your Keyblade?" he asked grumpily. His own was resting at his side. Roxas had already dismissed his. My exuberance at winning started to deplete.

"Sorry I had no idea _how _to summon it before. But once I did, I got here, didn't I? We won, right? What's the difference of a couple minutes?" I retorted a bit tweaked. Chimu growled softly so only I could hear.

"It's fine, don't worry," Roxas assured me. "We didn't get our Keyblades until faced with desperate situations either, or at least, I didn't. Riku got his under…unique circumstances."

That got me interested. I asked, "Like what?"

"None of your business," was the brisk reply. I glared at him, and he glared right back at me. Not that bad at glaring, I must admit, but I'd had plenty of practice against Loki, so he stood no chance against my scowl. He looked away first. Good. The sign of submission.

"So…Sora, was it? Did he get his Keyblade the same way?" I asked Roxas. I was respecting him. Not so much Riku.

Roxas nodded as his answer. "Okay, now next question. How do I make it go back?" I asked waving the blue-white Keyblade.

"Just will it to…hibernate, I suppose. You just need to stop feeling like you need it at _that exact moment_."

I did what he told me, and the Animus vanished with a slight swirl of shiny dust and the silver chain and stone feathered wing appeared back on my wrist.

"Do you guys have little charms too?" I asked. They shook their heads.

"No, but King Mickey was explaining that us that since you're late in receiving the Keyblade, you may have to use the bracelet as a catalyst for summoning it," Roxas explained. Oh. Well, I guess that made a little sense. I unclipped the silver part of the bracelet and switched it to my left wrist. The black chain and red webbed wing remained upon my right.

"I'm ambidextrous, but prefer my left hand," I explained to their questioning glances. Suddenly it hit me.

"_That's_ why you bought the bracelet for me!" I shouted shoving a finger into Riku's chest. It all made sense now. "You're not a stalker, or at least not because I'm in a band. You were following me because I'm some new Keyblade master. I bet _you_," I pointed at Roxas, "were following Kane." He nodded. I backed off and gave Riku some breathing space while I pondered everything through my head.

"So now that you know the reasons for everything, can we try this over and be comrades like civilized people?"

Wrong thing to say. I shout him a venomous glare and spat at his feet. Chimu let out a feline whine. He hated it when my emotions went from one extreme to another.

"What the hell?" Riku glared back at me. "Why do you hate me?"

"Figure it out yourself," I told him acidly. I turned to Roxas. "Great fighting, by the way. I've only ever fought beside Katsuyori-sensei, and he doesn't like fighting, not even sparring. I think this adventure will be more fun than I anticipated, with skills like that. You too," I added grudgingly to Riku. Roxas smiled gently.

"You're not too bad yourself. And here the King was worried you'd have no experience in combat. He'll be relieved."

"I didn't know you had formal lessons," Riku said.

"That's because you knocked out those thugs before I had a chance at them," I sniffed. He narrowed his eyes.

"You fight well, but your style is weak. You still need the training," he added. I glared at him in disbelief.

"Weak? What part of my style is _weak_?" I asked him in a deadly soft voice. Katsu had trained me personally. Everything I knew was from him. He was not weak.

"You fight as if you should have two long weapons, not just one. That leaves one of your sides open when you attack with combos," he said demonstrating. I was slightly taken aback.

"Wow. I didn't know you knew what you were talking about when it came to fighting," I admitted.

"I learned it back home with Sora. I should hope I know something about fighting, and not just swinging the weapons around."

"You, Sora, and Roxas?" I asked. They didn't answer me. Roxas and Riku went on pointedly ignoring the question. I wondered why.

"Besides, the King wants you to train under us, regardless of whether you can fight. Your style is more about speed and long distance, combined with quick melee slashes. The Keyblade is more about being up close to the enemy, and using a combination of powerful slashes and stabs. You leave yourself vulnerable when you try to melee a combo," he went on.

"I know." He looked like he didn't believe me. I summoned Animus and pulled out some of my emergency-only ninja tools.

"See, the long distance is because I use my kunai and shuriken for throwing. I prefer to stay back at a distance and wear away my opponent before closing in with double kodachi, hence the slashing two-weapon style. I can't actually use real kodachi on people, so I usually do my melee fighting with martial arts and the occasional kunai. When I combo with the Keyblade," I demonstrated, "I only have one sword-like weapon to work with. Without that second weapon, I know I leave myself vulnerable. That is why I put the Keyblade in my left hand, so that my right hand can have a kunai in it in case my enemy sees my weak spot. The kunai isn't the same as another Keyblade, or other sword-like weapon and it won't do squat against the Heartless, but it will help keep me alive. See? I got it under control. I don't need no stinkin' trainin'."

He looked impressed, but only for a minute.

"Prove it," was all he said as he summoned his own Keyblade. Ooh, this was going to be fun. Chimu had a worried look. I smirked and readied Animus.

I was already anticipating what sort of moves Riku would use as he dashed forward on the offense. He wanted to knock me down a few pegs, prove to me why over-confidence is dangerous. I easily blocked his first attacks. He quickly realized I wouldn't be that simple to take down, and changed tactics. But he made one mistake.

I wasn't over-confident.

I was done studying his moves. It was time for me to take the offense. I immediately saw how I could take him out, dismissed the Keyblade, shoved the kunai back into its hiding spot and jumped. It was as he was turning around that I moved with great agility and quickly jabbed my fingers into some simple pressure points. He dropped to the sand, his arm probably not responding.

"I wouldn't try to move," I told him. The smirk on my face probably infuriated him. Roxas intervened before the fight could continue.

"Hey now, we're supposed to be fighting a common enemy, not each other," he said helping Riku stand. There was some respect in his eyes.

I let my smirk strengthen. "He started it."

"If you'd stop using cheap ninja moves I could win, fair and square!" he grumbled rubbing his arm. I let the smirk fade. I walked right up to him, my face inches from his.

"Then stop holding back. You and I both know you could have beaten me if you had gone at me with your all. I hate people who hold back," I hissed. With a final narrowing of my eyes, I turned and left to go check up on Kane. Chimu held a soft confidence in his step.

**(O(o)O)**

**/World: Arvia**

**POV: Katsuyori third:**

"Er, Katsu…I know you want answers, but is this really the best idea?" a nervous Hammi asked. He and his sister stood outside the doors to the twins' rooms at the boarding school. Katsuyori was busy picking the lock on one of the doors.

"Well…I don't see any other place to go, do you?" Kammi snapped. She tapped her foot impatiently and brushed her cropped blonde hair from her face. Bunpei was sitting placidly at her feet, a look on his face that showed he was being patient though it was taking willpower. Kimaruta, Hammi's cat dæmon, was licking her fur, as if to clean away their embarrassment.

"But what will the headlines say if we're caught? 'Disciples of Fate Caught Trespassing in Rich Boarding School.' We'll be ruined!" he moaned. Kammi gave a snort of impatience. Bunpei's tailed flicked.

"We're still ruined without two of our most important members! Besides, we convinced the headmaster this was important," she retorted tossing her head. Hammi raised his eyebrows at Katsuyori, kneeling in front of the door with a kunai shoved into the lock.

"Then why are attempting to destroy their locks?"

Kammi smiled, one that said she was pleased. "Because Hane was smart and stole all the copies of their room keys. Kane's mixing board is one expensive piece, and we don't want to replace it. Dunno why she's locked her room up though, she usually uses Katsu's guitar."

"She has her own for when we both need to play. She just prefers mine," Katsu said in his quiet voice as the lock clicked and the door swung open. They stepped into a room covered in posters of exotic places, different bands, ninja paraphernalia, and other random objects. It looked cluttered, but there was definitely a sense of order about it. An expensive stereo system stood in the corner. An unmade bed lay under the window, the fading sunlight shining in the black and red bedspread. A shelf filled with cushions was nailed high above the bed, a sleeping place for a dæmon.

"Hmm…the black and red bed along with the various occult items tells me this is Hane's room," Hammi said inspecting a statue of a fairy with fangs and blood dripping from the torn wings. "Slightly disturbing, yet intriguing. That's Hane alright."

"That's new," Katsu said bending to look at the same figurine. "Must have been a new shipment at that one shop she buys these things from."

Kammi gave him a look. "And there's a good reason why you obviously have been in here before and we haven't?"

"I carry her shit home," Katsu replied. Kammi and Hammi gave each other a sibling look. _Doesn't his voice ever change?_ it said.

"So what clues are we looking for?" Hammi asked randomly opening a drawer. Kammi dragged him away by the hair as Katsu slammed the drawer on his fingers.

"Wrong drawer, dear brother. Don't you know women always use one of the top drawers for their underwear?" Kammi hissed. Hammi nodded his head as frantically as Kammi's grip would allow, "Yes! Yes, I know now!"

"Good." She let him go.

"Kammi, could you check under the bed? Women keep weird stuff down there, but there might be something that could help. Hammi, go check the desk," Katsu ordered. They nodded. Katsu wandered over to the stereo system. _Anyone who wanted to hide their secrets would hide them near what they love the most, and what Hane loves almost more than Kane is music._

After finding nothing of use in Hane's room, aside from re-establishing their suspicions about Hane's obsession with adventure, they tried Kane's room.

"Holy cow! Did we get the wrong room?!" Hammi cried as he stared into the sea of clutter. "I can't see the floor!"

Katsu and Kammi laughed, first at Hammi, then in vain as they realized they had to search it.

Several hours later, they found nothing to help explain to them why the twins had vanished.

"Well, technically they didn't vanish," Hammi said as the trio sat in the dim twilight amidst the benches of the central park. "We all saw those things. They were going mainly for the twins. They attacked us only when we got in their way."

"We also saw those two boys with the giant keys. They were able to harm the freaky creatures," Kammi added. "We're already certain that Hane and Kane went with them, but why? Did they know them?"

Katsu was quiet, but Hammi and Kammi had known him enough to read the little changes in expression he had.

"What are your ideas, Katsuyori?"

"I remember Hane telling me about a silver-haired boy who assisted her in a fight. Kane remarked he was hanging around her dorm room, and all throughout yesterday I noticed a guy with silver hair and no dæmon following them around the festival. Him and a guy with blonde hair," Katsu told them. Their eyes got big.

"But…that sounds like the boys from the Battle of the Bands last night! The ones with the giant keys! Hane and Kane _were_ kidnapped!!" Hammi said sounding stricken. Kammi didn't even reply with a nasty remark. Katsu shrugged.

"There are thousands of possibilities, and we'll never know until they come back."

"_If_ they come back…" Hammi muttered. Kammi heard him and knocked him to the ground. Bunpei was on top of Kimaruta.

"Don't say that!" she yelled at him. Normally Hammi would have retorted with some nasty remark, but he heard how Kammi's voice, higher than normal, cracked. She turned away from them, scooping up Bunpei and holding him close. "Don't say things like that…I can't explain it, but those two…they _have_ to come back. I wasn't something I was proud of before I met them…but now…"

Hammi stared at the ground, his face solemn. "I know…I'm sorry Onee-san…I just…"

They heard her sniff. "It's alright Hammi, I know."

"No! It's not alright! Those two are some of the best people in the world! Here I am saying things I shouldn't be saying, when those two…they…they turned us around, they…" he struggled to find the words. Katsuyori spoke up, his voice quieter than normal.

"They saved us."

Hammi raised his head and Kammi turned around, quickly wiping away tears.

"Yeah…"

Katsuyori continued, speaking for all of them "We were on the wrong path before we met Hane and Kane. We were drowning in our own darkness, the despair in our souls. We all have our flaws, but those two… They were battling their own demons when we all met, but they pushed aside their own problems to help us face ours. They taught us to trust again, to open up again…to love again…"

"Hammi and I…we were thrown out of our home after we saw our father throw our mom into the Arvia River. She was rescued, but was never the same again. Our father was arrested, but our mother wouldn't have anything to do with us. She left us in the streets to die. We were taken in by the gang of street rats who live in the abandoned tunnels beneath the city where we lived through stealing and off pure spite. But when we met those two…Hane was a driving force, lending us her strength to change our lives. Kane was that warm radiating light that helped us use our borrowed strength to change for the better. They turned us around." Kammi knew Katsuyori already knew their story, but she felt slightly lost knowing she couldn't just walk up to the stage and find at least one twin working on some equipment or new song idea. She needed some sort of comfort.

Katsuyori smiled that tiny little smile he rarely gave anyone besides his band members. "I remember first meeting you two. You were practically feral."

Hammi laughed. "Yeah! Kammi still is like that when she's really, _really_ pissed off. Right Kammi – Katsu! What's wrong!?"

He ran and kneeled next to Katsu who had suddenly bent over clutching his chest. He waved him off, his breathing slightly heavy.

"It's nothing…ate something weird…" he whispered, his mind still elsewhere. To remember his first meeting with Hammi and Kammi, he had to remember the times when his adoptive father, Moru, was still alive. When Katsu was still bitter from the incident that changed everything… Screams echoed though out his mind, ghosts pleading for his mercy to let them go already, ghosts blaming him for everything, driving away all his sense of the present.

Hammi and Kammi had experience with this before. When they were getting the band under its first legs, Katsuyori would often just collapse for no apparent reason. When it happened, Katsu seemed to no longer be in the present, but somewhere in his mysterious past they still didn't know to this day. They got him laid out on the grass with Hammi's jacket over him, but he remained unaware of anything. It was after Kammi had taken off to get his stepmother that Hammi heard his first hint to Katsu's past.

"Please…Kai-Tsuki…forgive me…" The whisper was faint, barely heard over Katsu's laboured breathing, but it was there. Hammi sat there, wondering what it meant as he saw Kammi and Yumine running towards them in the distance. Before they arrived, Hammi wiped away the small tears from Katsu's face, sparing him from the little indignities that didn't matter, yet made all the difference.

**(O(o)O)**

**/World: Night Dimension**

**POV: Kane Zenshin:**

**/Dream/**

When I opened my eyes we were back at the Dream Gate. I also noticed I was in NiGHTS's arms. I blushed a little, then NiGHTS let me go.

"How did we get back here?" he asked as he looked around.

"N-No idea!" I said, regaining myself before he noticed. I looked around as well. "Where's that giant Heartless?"

"I dunno. It disappeared. Along with that whole area," NiGHTS said.

"What was that place?" I asked looking up at him.

"I have no idea. But while we're asking questions, what was that thing? What did you call it? A Heartless?"

"Hoo! Did someone say Heartless?" A voice suddenly said, making my hair stand on end for a moment. I turned and saw Owl

flapping towards us and I felt my heart un-tighten.

"Owl," I said, relieved.

"Do you know what Heartless are?" NiGHTS asked.

"Hoo! Yes, I am very familiar with the Heartless. You see, Heartless are hearts corrupted by darkness and without a body or a soul. They were created over a thousand years ago," Owl explained.

"By who?" I asked.

"Hm... You know, I don't know. It was so long ago and I was so young that I don't remember," Owl said, looking thoughtful.

"You? Young? I don't believe it! And all this time, I thought you were born old!" NiGHTS laughed.

"I say! You must respect your elders!" Owl hooed. "But never mind that for now. If the Heartless are running loose, then I must worry about Nightopia. Hoo! As if Nightmaren weren't bad enough! We must check on it and see if it's all right. Afterwards, I will see if I can remember who is was that created them."

"I'll second that!" NiGHTS said, eagerly. "I've been waiting a long time for this! Let's go!"

I giggled. "Hee, hee! Alright. Let's go!" I agreed. We started towards the door, when suddenly something attacked NiGHTS and pinned him to the door to Nightopia!

"Ahh!" I screamed in surprise. When I looked up I saw a man with long, bright red hair, black bangs, and blue eyes holding NiGHTS against the door.

"Ah, NiGHTS. Long time no see. I see you're on a walk with your Visitor friend as usual," the man said in a taunting, cold voice. "I bet you weren't planning on seeing me."

"Re...Reala!" NiGHTS choked out, looking surprised as he struggled. "But how?!"

"Hmph! There's no need to tell you. Long story short, I've found a new employer, one who has given me more than enough power to defeat you! But for now, I have been ordered to 'lock you' away," the man NiGHTS had called Reala said, his eyes laughing at NiGHTS for some reason. I don't know what got into me, but I found myself yelling, "Hey you! Leave him alone!" I then tried to run forward, but Owl stopped me.

"Stay back! You're no match for that monster!" he said. The man laughed as he looked back at me and I shivered.

"Listen to your elders, little one," he sneered. "After all, you're just a worthless little girl, who can't do a thing." Then he pushed NiGHTS harder against the door, forcing it opened and they both disappeared within.

I fell to my knees. No...he was gone.

NiGHTS...

"Oh, I'm so sorry. That was terribly frightening wasn't it? Hoo!" Owl said, trying to comfort me.

"I-It's not that..." I said as I stared at the ground. "I'll admit that was a little scary, but... what really gets me is that I was right here! I was right here, but NiGHTS..." I couldn't continue, but Owl seemed to know where I was going. He nodded.

"You wouldn't have been able to do anything. That was a Nightmaren, from the dark realm of Nightmare. In a way, they are like the Heartless, except they go around stealing Ideya from visitors in order to destroy Nightopia. Usually when a Visitor comes to this world, they ambush them and take all their Ideya from them. If you had tried to stop that Nightmaren, there's a good chance you would have been seriously injured, or worse and that definitely wouldn't have helped NiGHTS one bit. In fact, if you were hurt on account of him, NiGHTS would never forgive himself," he explained.

"I-I see..." I said. I had to choke back my tears. And before you say anything, I wasn't holding back tears of fear, they were of frustration and anger at myself. For being so worthless, so... so... pathetic. "Then... Then there's nothing I can do?"

"Oh, I wouldn't say that," Owl said. "You still have your red Ideya. And with it, you may be able to rescue NiGHTS."

"R-Really?" I asked. He nodded.

"Of course, that is completely up to you," he said. "I will go on ahead." Then he flew over to the door and entered it.

I stared at my fists, which were shaking badly. No... No, I couldn't do this. Hane was the strong one, not me. Hane was the one who could fight, I couldn't. I... am weak. What if there were Heartless there? I couldn't fight them! I couldn't even fight humans! And that guy Reala...I shivered as I remembered his cold mocking stare as he looked at me, a look that I got a lot. There was no doubt in my mind that if he wanted he could kill me in an instant. There's no way I could fight all those guys!

But...

"_So how about it? Want to Dualize with me, try your hand at flying?"_

I gulped as I clutched my fists in determination. No, I wasn't going to run. I was scared, yes, but NiGHTS was my friend and he needed help! And when a friend is in trouble, you help them no matter what! I didn't have many friends; I had to make sure I didn't loose the ones I had! I stood, then I ran toward the door and took a deep breath before I opened it. When I did a light flowed out, and I felt... comfort, and yet fright at the same time as I entered to rescue my friend.

**/Third Person POV:**

Once again, Kane was falling through a field of multi-color stars until she landed on a snowy field that twinkled like soft crystals on the ground, and the large thick, pine, oak, and maple trees were like spirals as they reached towards the shimmering purple sky that had the northern lights effects. Kane stared around in awe at the beautiful scenery that surrounded her.

"Wow! This... is Nightopia?" she breathed. '_This... is the most beautiful place I've ever seen!'_ she thought as she started to walk, leaving a trail of small twinkles of light as she walked.

"Wow! Cool!" Amazed by the sparkles she walked around a little more, leaving small lights instead of foot prints. Then she jumped a small ways and when she landed, lights jumped then fell back down. Kane laughed. This place... was amazing!

'_I wonder what NiGHTS would think...'_ she wondered she giggled. She abruptly stopped as she remembered NiGHTS._ 'Ah! NiGHTS! I forgot about him!' _(**GWNL:** Geez! She sees a few sparklies and she forgets everything! How lame! **HBT:** Hey look, shiny! **GWNL:** Mine!** HBT:** -.- You were saying? **GWNL:** Hey! This is a shiny, not a sparkly, big dif! **HBT:** Right...)

She ran forward and after awhile she heard Owl call her over.

"Visitor! I'm so glad you came! We could really use your help!" he said as she walked over to them.

"We?" she asked. Then she noticed a few pixie-looking people all huddled together and shivering. "Oh! Who are you?"

"These are the Nightopians. They are usually a cheerful people, but right now they are terrified of the new enemy at hand," Owl said, motioning over his shoulder and behind a rock. Kane looked over it and saw NiGHTS in some kind of orb cage guarded by some strange creature on some type of bird.

"Wh-what are those?" Kane asked.

"Those are Nightmarens. Now they're not as strong as Reala, but they are still dangerous all the same," Owl explained to her.

"Then how can we free NiGHTS?"

"If you somehow manage to get into that cage and Dualize with NiGHTS the two of you should be able to break out of that cage and defeat those Nightmarens. Now the real problem is – " But Kane didn't listen to the rest of what Owl had to say. Now the smart thing would have been to let Owl finish, but Kane was afraid that if she did she would have lost what little nerve she had to help NiGHTS!

"Wait, we mustn't be rash!" Owl called after her, but Kane didn't hear him.

"NiGHTS!" she yelled as she neared him. NiGHTS turned towards her.

"Kane?" he said, looking surprised. Then his eyes widened when he saw a shadow form behind her. "Look out!" he yelled.

"Huh? Ahh!" Kane exclaimed as she barely managed to duck just before the shadow swiped at her. She noticed that it looked a little like the Heartless that had attacked her in her world, but it had a metal helmet and was taller.

'_There are Heartless here?!'_ she thought, frantically.

"Why didn't you tell me there were Heartless here?!" she yelled toward Owl as she jumped back from the Heartless.

"I tried! You ran off before I could!" Owl yelled back, flapping his wings rapidly.

"Kane! Don't sweat it! Just climb up that chain and let's show them who's boss!" NiGHTS called down, resisting the urge to

laugh at Owl's expression and Kane's frantic face as she dodged the Heartless.

"O...okay!" Kane yelled. Then she saw NiGHTS face and yelled, "Stop enjoying yourself!" Then using agility she never knew she had, Kane jumped onto the long golden chain and climbed up as four more Heartless danced around her. Finally she reached the inside of the cage she and NiGHTS Dualized with one another and the gem that rested upon NiGHTS's chest glowed a bright red and the cage burst apart. NiGHTS then flew off into the air grabbing one of the Nightmaren who tried to flee and threw it into one the Heartless. Both vanished on impact. NiGHTS then kicked down upon the bird sent it slamming into the snow-covered ground. NiGHTS then took off after the other Nightmaren who tried to escape through the trees, but NiGHTS used 'dash' to catch up with them, did something called the paraloop and the Nightmaren was destroyed within the ball of wind.

He then flew back to the area where four Heartless were waiting for them.

"NiGHTS... can we fight them?" Kane asked as she watched them dance around.

"Of course we can!" NiGHTS told her. "Don't you believe me?" The question caught Kane off guard for a moment. Did she? After a moment, she nodded.

"I believe you, NiGHTS!" NiGHTS smiled.

"Then let's go!" They flew down towards the Heartless and quickly flew around the Heartless, creating a small tornado that destroyed the Heartless.

When all the enemies were gone they separated just as Owl and the Nightopians ran up to them.

"Hoo! I can't believe it! I can't believe you defeated the Heartless," Owl said.

"What part can't you believe? Kane and I make a good team," NiGHTS said. Kane decided to ignore them as she looked down at the Nightopians. They were so cute! Then suddenly everything began to darken, fade away again like before. She was waking up!

"Ah! NiGHTS!" she turned towards him. But he only had time to look up before she vanished.

**(O(o)O)**

**/World: Bandit Desert**

**POV: Third Person/**

"Okay, first things first," Riku said to Sanzon when they were all in the ship, "Which Ansem gave your father that harmonica?"

"Huh?" said Sanzon as he gave him a weird look.

"Just describe him please."

"Well... I don't really remember him too well. But I think he had blonde hair..." Sanzon started. At this Roxas and Riku sighed in relief.

"Oh, good. It was the real Ansem," Roxas said.

"Huh?" the rest said.

"Nothing. Do you remember anything else about it?"

Sanzon shook his head. "Not really. I just know it was given to my father, who gave it to me."

Riku was about to ask something else, but Hane interrupted.

"Don't mean to be rude, but now that the Heartless are gone and everything, can I go see my sister now?" she asked. Sanzon nodded. "Of course!"

**(O(o)O)**

**/World: Bandit Desert**

**POV: Kane Zenshin/**

As I slowly awoke I heard someone yelling with Loki.

"Oi! You stupid cat! That's my fish!" an unfamiliar voice yelled.

"Relax. We're all animals here," I heard Loki say as he munched on some fish.

"Who're you callin' a monkey, you stupid cat?!"

"I didn't call you a monkey, but it's good that you know what breed you are."

"Grr! Why you!"

"Nice come back, monkey."

"That's it! I'm gonna fry you, and then I'm gonna eat you!"

"Ooh! I'm so scared of the little monkey who got sent flying after getting hit by a little girl! Two in fact!"

I slowly opened my eyes and saw a man with spiky red hair and blue eyes jump at cat Loki, who easily slid under him, then transformed into a donkey and sent the poor boy flying into the wall.

"Go Loki!" Hane cheered.

"Beat up by a cat. How the great have fallen." I heard someone chuckle.

"Shut up, Tongle!" the boy yelled. I slowly sat up.

"Ah! You're finally awake!" a boy with semi-spiky blue hair and brown eyes said. I groggily looked at him.

"Um... Yes... Who are you?" I asked. Before he could answer though, Hane came rushing over.

"Kane! You're awake!" she said as she looked intently at me. "Thank goodness, I was starting to get worried."

"Nani? Just how long was I out?" I asked. But Roxas answered before Hane could.

"A couple of days now. You really hit your head hard when we landed, you've been unconscious since then," he said. "It's just lucky we ran into these guys, or we would be goners!"

"Yeah... Lucky," Hane said as she glared at the red haired boy. Chimu hissed at him a little.

"Oh..." I said as I looked at the rest of them. I noticed that there were quite a few people I didn't know. The boy with blue hair smiled at me as he introduced himself.

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Sanzon, that's Tongle, he wrapped your wound, that's Quo, he's been repairing your ship, that's Sugi, and the one your, er, dæmon beat up is Umgle," he said, pointing at each of them.

"Hey! He did not beat me up!" Umgle yelled.

"Oh, really? Then how did you get so beat up then?" Loki smirked. Umgle turned red with rage.

"Sh-shut up! Baka neko!" he snapped. Everyone laughed; even I chuckled a little.

"So you patched me up?" I asked as I stood, turning to Tongle. "Thank you very much!" Tongle blushed a little as he scratched his chin.

"Aw, it was no trouble!" he said. "Wow, this girl is actually nice! Not like her sister..."

"Hey! What's that suppose to mean?!" snapped Hane, shaking her fist.

"That you're a mean little girl, who has no respect for anyone," Riku said.

"Why you! Do I need to beat your ass into the sand again!?" Hane hissed as she leaped towards him.

"Whaa!! Hane! Chill!" I cried as Roxas and I grabbed her. Mickey stepped forward.

"Well, Quo managed to repair our ship and now that you're awake we can all get going!" he said.

"Eh? You're leaving already?" Sugi asked.

"Wha? Bu-But I just woke up!" I exclaimed. Okay, maybe I wasn't too big on this whole adventure, but I still wanted to at least see the new worlds we visited.

"I know, I'm sorry, Kane. But we can't afford to waste anymore time. Don't worry!" he assured me with a smile. "We'll come back!"

"When you do, you'll have to come visit us!" Sugi said.

"Oi! Don't be inviting them back! They've caused enough trouble!" Umgle yelled. Loki laughed.

"Don't worry, monkey! I won't pick on you anymore," he smirked.

"I'm not a monkey!"

"You're right, that's an insult to all the other monkeys out there."

"You!" We all laughed as Umgle steamed.

**/World: Gummi ship**

**POV: Roxas:**

We all said our goodbyes to our new friends and took off for our new destination in our gummi ship. I felt a little bad for Kane, though. I could tell that she didn't really want to leave her home, but she did in order to help her friends. Because of her sacrifice, I wanted her to be able to see the world and get a chance to enjoy them. Plus she just looked so lonely all the time... I guess this was Sora's heart at work. He always did like to help people especially if they looked so... sad.

"So where to next?" Riku asked as he and the king sat at the front.

"We should get to Radiant Gardens as soon as we can. When we get there, Merlin should be able to tell us why Kane hasn't been able to summon her Keyblade yet." I heard him reply. I stared out the window of the Gummi ship when suddenly I saw the world, Land of the Dragons. I then remembered Mulan telling Sora about a firework festival coming up soon.

"Hey, guys? Before we head back to Radiant Gardens, why don't we stop in Land of the Dragons?" I asked.

"Land of the Dragons?" Hane asked. "What's that? A world full of dragons instead of people?"

"A world... of dragons?" Kane asked with wide eyes. I laughed.

"No, there's only one dragon there," I said, remembering Mushu. "It's world where a friend of Sora's lives. Her name is Mulan. She told him once about a firework festival that I think would be very cool to see."

"Fireworks?" Kane asked eagerly. I nodded.

"Do you like fireworks, Kane?" Riku asked her. She was silent for a few minutes, as if wondering for herself. Finally she nodded.

"Well then!" Hane said loudly. "We should go down there and see the fireworks!"

"I dunno..." King Mickey said slowly, looking unsure. "We really should be getting back..."

"I agree with the giant mouse!" Loki said, the form of a bright, colorful fish that floated next to Kane's head (remember, fish flew in their world…I suppose Loki would start gasping if he tried to be a bird). "There might be more Heartless there and I don't know about you, but I don't to die! Besides, we are on a very important mission and cannot afford to waste time!"

"Oh, stuff it!" Chimu, who was in fox form. "You just don't like the fireworks and you know it!"

"Well, who would?! Those things explode very loudly and then they chase you around the room!"

"That's only because Hane lit them inside that one time!" Kane laughed.

"So we're all going to Land of the Dragons?" I asked. We all looked towards Mickey, hopefully. He sighed in defeat.

"Alright," he said as we all cheered. "I guess it won't hurt anyone if we made one detour. But right after this, we're going straight to Radiant Gardens, got it?"

"Yay!" we all cheered again. Loki was in a corner, moping in hermit crab form.

"Loki?" Chimu said as he tapped his shell.

"Don't talk to me, I'm mad," he grumbled. I couldn't help but laugh.

**(X(x(X(x)X)x)X)**

Ah, that was a fun chapter to write, or at least, HBT's part with Hane vs. Riku. HBT knows…the explanation of her fighting seems like a bunch of BS, and you'd be right. HBT doesn't know much about fighting, so ignore her temporary lapse of knowledge and enjoy the rest….

And awwww! Kane is so adorable! Lol. This is actually more of a change for GWNL and HBT. HBT usually writes the docile and diminutive characters and GWNL writes the outgoing loud ones. 0o

Again…GOMENASAI!! That was probably the longest post. The side story-with Katsuyori and the rest was HBT'S idea. Hate if you want, but HBT is slight OCD about writing and if she were a reader, she'd want to know how the people back on Arvia are taking the twin's disappearances. She's just trying to be thorough.

_SIDE NOTE: The whole dominance-submission thing is based off HBT's work with animals. Among dogs, it's common to establish rank by staring contests. Whoever looks away first is showing submission. Hane and Kane come from a world with dæmons, which are animals. They're used to the whole sub-dom thing, and usually do so by their own staring contests or with the dæmons. That's one reason that Hane keeps getting uppity with Riku. To her, he's already shown submission, and she feels he should respect her more. Think it as a power struggle. She gets along with Roxas okay since he's earned her respect and dominance over her. Hane has dominance over Kane, but they're still human, so Hane has that protective instinct to watch over and make sure no one else dominates Kane besides herself. But because Kane is the little sister (in personality and by several minutes) Kane has a sway over Hane because of the blood relation. _


	9. NOTICE

HuntedByTrees here. As of now, Speculum quod Somnium is temporarily discontinued. When I went to open the file to do one last edit check before posting the next (ninth) chapter, I was unable to find it. I opened the next file, thinking that I accidentally saved Nine into Ten, and was given a pop-up saying the file was corrupted. I received the same with chapters eleven and twelve.

Of course, that is a helluva lot of work that just was lost. However, there is probably hope. GirlWithNoLife is supposed to keep copies of these files. The only chapter she may not have is chapter Fifteen, but that one is not corrupted. I also have various CD's stored away just for these occasions. I may just need to go over those for a good week and make sure they are properly edited, and make sure to add anything that may have existed in the final version of the lost files.

So while I contact GWNL and recover my lost work, this fanfic will be on hold. I do not know how long.

I apologize for the inconvenience. This hurts me too.

HBT


End file.
